Paralysed
by Chaser555
Summary: House and Chase are in a happy relationship and have just moved in together. They have both decided to keep their relationship a secret, but they will both be tested soon enough. When a tragedy happens, will House learn to show his affection for Chase in public? Or will he go back to isolating himself? The team is Chase, Foreman and Cameron. (This is NOT a sequel to "Say Yes.")
1. Secrets

House slammed his fist down the table and the diagnostics room turned completely silent.

"You moron!" He cried out loud. "How stupid can you be? Taking a scan of the same leg twice? I'm starting to think that you're stuck with a bird's brain! You leave me no choice – you're off this case!"

Foreman and Cameron watched Chase with fear in their eyes, both having adopted a wait-and-see attitude. For the past few weeks, the diagnostics room had seemed so peaceful and quiet. There had been the usual taunting from House every now and then, but it had been without tantrums or arguments and it had seemed fairly innocent. But the harmony, indeed, seemed to be over now. Sometimes House would pick a poor soul to harass and this time, it appeared, he had picked Chase.

Foreman curiously waited for Chase to say something in return and make the situation even worse for himself whilst Cameron hoped that he would be smart enough to keep his mouth shut and just let House say whatever he wanted. As they studied their Australian colleague, they could tell that he was struggling to contain himself. It looked as though he was torn between defending himself by yelling back at House or keeping his mouth shut in order to protect his job. He looked pretty angry at this point, but not as angry as their boss.

Chase finally chose his own defending words and he sighed: "Look, it was an honest mistake. I can easily run another test if you like."

House tossed his head back and chuckled condescendingly. "Oh sure. Like wasting our time just the _one_ time isn't enough. I already told you, you're off this case. If we can't have your full attention, we might as well have none at all."

Foreman observed how these words seemed to frustrate the blond doctor even more. He had to admit that he found the situation slightly amusing, although he did feel bad about enjoying it so much. In a way, he felt like Chase deserved this. Maybe he needed a reminder of the fact that he should take his job more seriously. Sometimes Chase could act a little reckless and get away with it and that was something which Foreman had never appreciated in anyone.

Chase took a step towards House. "I'm sorry, but I think you're overreacting. Just give me another chance and I will prove it to you that I'm focused…"

House smiled evilly and pretended to listen. "Oh let me think about that for a moment," he said mockingly, "hmm… How about no! This shall teach you to be more grateful for your precious job in the future. Foreman, you go do the new test! And Cameron, you can apologize to the patient for the inconvenience and explain it to her that one of her doctors is a clown!"

Foreman just nodded and Cameron looked as though she wanted to protest, but House fled the room before any of them could bother him with further questions. When he was gone, Chase exhaled loudly and sat down at the table, suddenly having very little to do in this room.

"Sorry, man." Foreman said as he noted the Australian's bitter reaction. "I'm sure it's nothing personal."

"Yeah right," Chase merely shrugged, "he's just a jerk. I shouldn't be surprised."

"He's not a jerk," Cameron objected loyally, "he just cares about the patient. As he should."

"Ha! He never cares about any of the patients." Chase crossed his arms defiantly.

Even Foreman chuckled and agreed with him on this. "True. Get your head out of your ass, Cameron. You're so naïve!"

He left the room in order to run the test and Cameron's eyes followed him angrily. Her old crush on House was well-known in this department and she was sick and tired of people making fun of her for it.

"He's such a jackass." Chase muttered to himself as he began to pack his things. If he wasn't needed here, he might as well head down to the ER instead.

But of course, Cameron heard this and she took a step closer as she wanted his attention. "Please don't blame House like that," she said almost pleadingly and it made her sound pathetic, "he means well, even if he doesn't show it. Please don't hold a grudge against him, Chase. You know better than that."

Chase turned around to look at her. She was frowning once again and she looked utterly miffed. But he didn't care.

He shrugged and said bluntly: "I'm not just holding a grudge against House, Cameron. I _hate_ him."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

By the end of the day, Chase picked up his messenger bag and changed out of his scrubs in the locker-room, saying goodnight to some of his colleagues and hello to some of those whose shifts had only just begun. He felt tired, uneasy. He considered taking a quick shower, but then he just felt desperate to leave the hospital as soon as possible.

Exiting the building, he began to walk through the parking lot, looking for a very specific car. His boss' car. However, when he found it in one of the front rows, he quickly discovered that House had made it to the car before him. He was standing there, leaning against the door with a look on his face as to imply that he had been expecting his young employee for a while now. When Chase moved closer, House stood up to take a good look at him.

"Are we alone?" Chase asked him in a fairly neutral voice as they looked each other in the eyes.

House grinned devilishly and nodded. "We are indeed."

And then he took a big step forward and locked his arms around his awaiting employee. Chase smiled when he felt House's embrace and he leaned into his touch immediately.

"Nice acting today, baby." House breathed against his lips and pulled him even closer so that he could smell his hair and nibble at his ear.

"You too." Chase chuckled happily. "You should have seen their faces."

"Oh I wish I could."

House moved to nibble at the kid's neck, just to make him raise his chin a little bit. And when he did, House sought his lips with his own and he immediately deepened the kiss in order to make it more passionate. He had missed his young lover all day and he knew that the kid would make up for it tonight. He couldn't wait.

"So tell me," House said as he pulled back slowly, making sure that they were still alone, "what happened after I left the room?"

"Oh it was really funny," Chase giggled and his eyes lit up, much to House's delight, "I called you a jerk and a jackass and, of course, Cameron defended you right away. You should have seen her face when I told her that I hate you."

House couldn't help but to laugh out loud. Oh, this was perfect. The kid had truly done a good job on this one. Almost as good as him, that was.

"That's just brilliant," he smiled widely as he caressed his Wombat's cheek with his hand, "although, you will have to make it up to me tonight. I can't have you badmouthing me behind my back, can I?"

"Very funny," Chase began to play with House's neck hairs and he gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, "you said a lot of things to me as well, remember."

They both smirked at the thought and gave each other one last look before getting in the car. As House got ready to drive off the hospital's parking lot, Chase placed a hand on his knee and he kept it there throughout the twenty-minute car ride. He too felt very excited about tonight.

In a way, they were both saddened to keep their relationship a secret, but they knew it was for the best. They had both been doing an excellent job keeping people from finding out. They would only kiss and cuddle behind locked doors and they would both flirt with other people in order to appear as single as possible. The plan had worked so well. Until Cameron saw them having lunch together in the canteen one day and gave them a funny look. From that moment on, they both realised that they needed to do something in order to keep her from figuring it out.

That was when Chase came up with the idea that they should pretend to be fighting. Pretend to resent each other, even. So far, it didn't feel very pleasant but surely, it kept people from getting suspicious. And that was all they needed right now.

They had been living together for a few weeks now and everything was going perfectly well. Which was exactly why they didn't want anything to change these days. It would be too soon to go public. They needed to enjoy each other's company as much as possible before taking such a huge next step.

And indeed, they enjoyed each other very much.


	2. Shame

As they reached their apartment building, House had only just pushed the button in the elevator before turning to kiss Chase once again. However, when he saw one of the downstairs neighbors walking past the slowly closing doors, he quickly jumped and turned away from his employee once again.

"Do you think she saw us?" House sounded deeply concerned all of a sudden.

Chase mainly shrugged. At first, he couldn't keep himself from laughing; he had never seen his boss do a jump like this one before. But when House kept checking to see if anyone had seen him approaching the younger man, it no longer seemed that funny. They were living together now and he was still worried whenever someone saw the two of them together.

Why was House always so afraid of getting caught? Was he ashamed or something?

A few hours later, though, the two men were lying in each other's arms in the bedroom and Chase was trying to forget about the incident in the elevator. House had been very playful and naturally, that was something which he enjoyed quite a lot.

"God, you're so edible." House grinned as he licked the younger man across his bare chest repeatedly. "I could do this all night long."

House could be such a passionate and eager lover when he wanted to; he would sometimes cover the kid with kisses and touch every inch of his body, caressingly. Sometimes he would be less thorough and more rough instead; not because he didn't care enough or just wanted to get it over with, but because he tended to lose control of himself around Chase. The young Australian knew that this eager approach, for sure, indicated both joy and pleasure on House's behalf and so he learned to love it. He always appreciated House's grand, romantic gestures.

He just wished that more people knew about the existence of these gestures.

So far, Chase had responded to every kiss and given House quite a few in return, but tonight he found himself feeling rather distracted. Something was on his mind and he was dying to talk to House about it, even if it made him feel nervous as hell.

"Is something wrong, kiddo?"

House noted the hesitance and held his lover's face in his hand so that the kid had no choice but to look at him. He could tell from the way that Chase was biting his lip that he was keeping something to himself.

"Well, now you mention it," the younger man smiled at him, but it was a particularly sad smile, "I suppose there is something I want to ask you."

"Go on then. What is it?"

House sincerely wanted to take an interest, but instead he let his mind and his hands wander until he was once again touching his Wombat all over. He couldn't help himself. It had been a long day at the hospital and _this_ was what he had looked forward to doing the most. Chase had become his own personal treat in the end of the day. He was the sweetest thing ever...

"Greg," Chase tried to suppress a small gasp as he felt the other man pinching him and biting him playfully, "could you stop for a second? I really need you to listen."

However, House got even more excited and this time, he bit him hard enough to make him yelp loudly. Oh, he had almost forgotten how sensitive the Wombat could be.

"Sorry, babe, I didn't mean to hurt you there." House smirked as to state that he regretted nothing at all. He moved closer until he was lying on top of the blonde, covering his mouth with his own.

Chase wanted to tell him to stop so that he could ask the question that was on his mind, but he loved House's kisses too much. They were always so wild and desperate, but at the same time sweet and passionate. He felt himself wrapping his arm around hiss boss instead, begging him to continue. House snickered when he felt his lover surrender to the kiss and he went on to deepening it so that he could tease him with his tongue. This had Chase moaning loudly, now wrapping both arms around the other man as if to pull him even closer.

"Oh you were always so easy to please." House teased him when he momentarily broke the kiss. "You were never able to resist me, were you?"

Chase giggled, but he, too, knew the answer to that question. Of course he had never been able to resist a man like Gregory House; he had felt extremely drawn to him right from the beginning. And now he could feel himself beginning to lose control, all because of one kiss. He propped himself up on his elbows so that he could reach for the older man's lips again. Oh, he felt like such an addict sometimes. Naturally, House laughed at his attempt and pushed him down on his back again. This time, he made the younger man wheeze and squirm by rubbing his own naked body against his, repeatedly.

"Greg," Chase panted as he decided to make another try for it, "remember that… I still have to… ask you something. You're distracting me…"

House chuckled tauntingly and began to rub his pelvis against him even harder. "You can ask me anything, baby, you know that." And then he immediately initiated another kiss, knowing that this would distract the kid enough for him to forget his own name.

And how tempting it was to just surrender to his touch once more… Chase could feel the burning hot lips against his own, but he convinced himself that he needed to be more firm this time.

"No, don't," he moaned and pulled back as far as he could, "I need to talk to you first."

"Then talk." House teased him with a grin and leaned forward yet again to catch his employee's soft and slightly pink lips.

Chase could feel the kiss deepen even faster than usual and he knew that he needed to be strong now. House was deliberately making it difficult for him; he knew all his weaknesses.

"Greg, _no!_ Not now." He cried out loud all of a sudden and before House knew what had happened, he had used all his strength to swap their positions so that House was lying down on his back and Chase himself was sitting on top of him (whilst being very careful not to put any pressure on his bad leg, of course).

"Wow, tonight you're even wilder than I thought."

House would never admit this to anyone, but he always enjoyed it whenever the kid showed determination and took him by surprise.

"Don't sound so impressed with me," Chase told him firmly, "nothing is going to happen before I get to ask my question."

Finally, House sighed. He was well aware of what needed to happen now. They would probably have a serious conversation, maybe so serious that the kid would no longer be in the mood for the rest of the evening.

"All right," he nodded compliantly, "so you're the _quid pro quo_ kind of guy, huh? I get it. You need something from me before I can have anything from you. In that case, you have my full attention."

Chase hesitated for a moment as he tried to determine whether House was kidding him or not. But when he wasn't interrupted in any way, he decided to go on with his question.

"I wanted to ask you about what happened in the elevator earlier." House only glared at him confusedly, so he added: "You were about to freak out when you thought that the old woman from downstairs saw us kissing. Why was that?"

"Oh that!" House rolled his eyes and chuckled slightly feignedly. "Come on, you know what old women are like! If she had caught us in the middle of something, she would have used it against us for all eternity…"

"You know that's not what I'm talking about." Chase caught him off, looking rather dissatisfied. "Since when have you ever been scared of what old women might say to you? Normally, you couldn't care less about what other people think. In fact, you would only be _pleased_ with yourself if you could offend someone in the process of doing something you enjoy. So why did you care this time? You're not ashamed of me, are you, Greg?"

"What?" House exclaimed, completely taken aback. "Robbie, you gotta be kidding me! Why on earth should I be ashamed of you? You don't actually believe that, do you?"

House realized that this wasn't funny anymore. Sure, he would sometimes find great pleasure in teasing and testing the kid in his own wicked ways, but he would like to think that he had never gone as far as to actually hurt him. That was something he would never do intentionally. However, this time, his beloved Wombat did appear hurt.

Chase shrugged and looked down to avoid his lover's eyes. "I don't know what to believe. I mean, there must be a reason why you don't want to make our relationship official. I figured you might be embarrassed to be seen with me."

House closed his eyes and just like that, he felt like a big jerk.

"No, Robbie, you got it all wrong," he sighed and made a gesture that he should allow him to change position on the bed, "can't you see how crazy I am about you? I mean, I've been _drooling_ all day just thinking about the things you and I would do together tonight. Doesn't that tell you anything?"

Chase got off of the older man and allowed him to sit up in the bed. Now that they were sitting next to each other, House threw an arm around him and brought him closer.

"I'm sorry, I know you're right," Chase looked down at his own hands, "I guess I was just hoping that one day, we wouldn't have to keep this a secret anymore. It makes me feel like we're doing something… _wrong_."

"It's not wrong," House whispered soothingly, "you know it's not. But we both agreed on this from the start. This is very new to the both of us and I still think that we need more time alone with each other before we announce anything. No interruptions, right?"

"Right." Chase tried his best to smile, but it looked a little too forced.

House thought about what to say for a moment. "Look, baby, you can correct me if I'm wrong. But I think this sounds like your mood-swings are returning. Is it getting worse? You do remember to take your pills, don't you?"

Chase seemed to get even more tense, like he always did whenever he had to talk about this subject. "Of course I take them." He said without much conviction in his voice. "And it's not so bad anymore. I feel fine, I promise."

House just nodded. He decided that trust was more important than evidence this time.

"Fair enough," he answered him calmly, "I only care about what's best for you. I do want you to be happy, Robbie."

"But I _am_ happy with you. I really am."

The couple looked at each other once again and even though Chase's eyes were slightly watery, he was smiling more widely now.

Ever since his father had died, he had been in a very dark place. He had basically lost his entire family and he felt very much alone in this world – until House came along, that was. However, the mood-swings would still come back every now and then and his former depression would still show whenever he was at his weakest. He was still on anti-depressants, just to be safe. He didn't want to take any chances now, because he knew that House would be the one to change his life forever. For the better. And he intended to be both happy and in love.

It had recently been the anniversary of his father's death, though, and it had brought back some nasty, painful memories. For weeks, Chase had felt the fear and anxiety return to him – even the fear of living without love. It had nearly turned him desperate; he used to cry in House's arms and ask him if he cared for him. And even though House's answer had always been yes, he was still terrified of the idea of being abandoned and forgotten about.

That was when House came up with the idea that the two of them should be living together. He never thought that he would hear himself suggest such thing, but it was better than having to worry about the kid whenever he couldn't be around. And to be honest, Chase did make his world a much nicer place to live in.

This one time, House didn't mind it if he was acting out of character. Chase moved into his apartment and neither one of them had regretted it so far. It was only wonderful to have something to share with each other.

And of course, it hadn't been bad for their sex life either…

"Are you feeling better now?" House asked the younger man impatiently. "In case you forgot, I just answered your question which means it's my turn to get what I want. Isn't that so?"

House threw him down on the mattress once again and Chase giggled and embraced him lovingly; grateful to be near the person he treasured the most. The couple began to kiss and cuddle and soon enough, House was doing things to Chase that forced him to bite his own lip bloody in order to keep himself from screaming.

"Oh, you like that, baby?" House was watching him shiver and he loved it. (He knew that the kid would be thanking him later).

"I do…" Chase whispered, still biting his lip hard. This was just one of his many ways of begging House not to stop.

And naturally, he never stopped. Not even when Wilson – who was standing right outside – rang the door bell for the fifth time and then decided to let himself in. He had seen that the lights in the windows were still on when he got out of his car and he knew where House used to keep his spare key. For a moment, he was almost worried that something had happened to his friend; no matter which mood he was in, he would usually answer the door sooner or later. This time he didn't.

Wilson found the spare key and got the door unlocked.

"House?" He closed the door behind him and walked into the living room. The lights and the TV were still on and that had him all confused. Surely this meant that House had to be here somewhere. What on earth was he doing?

"House!" Wilson called out his name again as he made his way towards the bedroom. He was certain that he had heard a noise from the other side of the door. A noise like a small cry or a gasp. Was he in trouble in there?

"House, it's me," Wilson called out one last time, deciding that he should make sure that everything was okay, "I'm coming in!"

And then he reached for the door handle, completely unprepared for what he was about to discover on the other side…


	3. Deception

House felt Chase freezing underneath him; the kid was reacting to a sudden noise that House himself had missed. It wasn't until the bedroom door behind him was opened that he realized what was going on. And then it was too late…

"_Oh my god!"_

House didn't even need to turn around to see who it was. He immediately recognized Wilson's startled voice. Suddenly, he had no idea how to react or what to make of himself. By intuition, House forced himself to just stay on top of Chase, trying to pull the blanket over his head in order to protect his employee's identity.

He swore to himself that this wasn't _just_ because he didn't want Wilson to know that he was sleeping with his own staff – he did this, mainly, to protect the kid. He didn't want Chase to get into trouble just because he'd been foolish enough to believe that he could actually keep a secret from his best friend. At least that was what he swore to himself that very moment when he used his own body to hide away the younger man's.

"Oh my god," Wilson repeated and he instantly covered his eyes with both hands, "I'm so sorry! I had no idea that… that…"

He took a step backwards and then he slowly fumbled his way back to the door, immediately shutting it with a loud slam, relieved to have escaped the bedroom.

He could feel his legs shaking and his face had never felt redder… Oh, House was so gonna kill him for this!

Inside the bedroom, House jumped off of Chase who was struggling to find his way out of the blanket that had been thrown over his head.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it…" House muttered bitterly as he searched around the bed for his clothes. "How the fuck could this happen?"

Chase watched him nervously from the bed, having no clue what to do now. "Easy," he whispered as quietly as he could now that Wilson was in the apartment, "you need to be careful with your leg."

"Oh, is that so? You don't say!" House hissed aggressively as he struggled to keep his balance whilst putting on his underwear.

"I was just trying to help." Chase told him, sounding more angry this time. "This isn't my fault, you know."

House merely sighed and threw a t-shirt over his head. "Well, if you really want to help, why don't you fetch my pants for me?"

Chase still wanted to say something back, but he kept his mouth shut and did what he was asked. He also supported House by holding on to his shoulders whilst he was putting on his pants, keeping him from falling over. His sense of balance was still compromised.

"Thank you." House muttered in the end, forcing himself to be nice even though he didn't feel like it. Chase was right after all – it wasn't his fault that this had happened.

"Are you going out there to talk to him?" Chase whispered. "What will you tell him?"

"I don't know," House shrugged and looked down, feeling utterly frustrated, "but I have to tell him something, I guess. I bet he's waiting for me to come out." House thought to himself how excited and hot he'd felt just a few hours ago, bringing the Wombat back to the apartment. He'd been in such a good mood and now it was ruined. He couldn't even look at Chase now without revealing the disappointment in his eyes. "Look, you just stay here, okay? I will tell him whatever I must and then I'm sure he'll go back to his own place. But he should hear the truth from me – alone."

Chase nodded compliantly. "But if you need my help…"

"No, it's okay," House caught him off, "I'm fine. Just stay here, okay? Don't come out unless I tell you to. I think that would be too much for good old Jimmy right now."

Chase sat down on the bed, smirking. "Really? You call him Jimmy?"

House sneered, shaking his head as to tell him that he wasn't going to answer that. "Just stay put, Wombat. All right?"

House walked out the door, determined to play it cool and hide his own nervousness. He instantly spotted his friend Wilson in the couch and he walked right up to him, clutching the cane in his hand.

"So," he began, coolly as ever, "apparently I have just starred in a peep-show that I have not yet been paid to do. So where is my money?"

Wilson - who was still feeling absolutely horrified - appreciated the fact that House had made the effort of joking, but he was too shaken to find it funny.

"House," he breathed as he tried to massage his own temples, hoping that this would make it easier for him to think, "I'm so sorry. I feel like a complete jackass. I had no business walking in that door…"

"That's right," House pursed his lips, "you didn't. So what on earth made you do it anyway? Were you just too much of a pervert?"

"No, I swear, I had no idea that you were with someone in there. You have to believe me, I heard a noise and I thought you might be in pain or in trouble. I only wanted to check on you…"

"Hold on," House frowned and raised his cane at his friend, "that was _not_ a noise of pain you heard. Are you criticizing my effort in bed now?"

"No, no – god no!" Wilson exclaimed, scared that he might have made the situation even worse for himself. "I'm just saying that I only heard _you_ so I thought you were alone in there. I didn't hear the girl you were with at all."

House paused, suddenly sensing a new dilemma in this conversation. He thought about it for a moment. Either Wilson had just insulted Chase in the funniest way imaginable – or he really had no idea what was going on. House knew that he needed to test him.

"I'm sorry, did you just say the _girl_ I was with?" He asked whilst grimacing.

Wilson looked up, his cheeks turning red again. "Oh forgive me, I meant the _woman_ you were with. Look, I don't mean to pry but is it someone I know? I just saw the short blond hair so I didn't recognize her."

House was too busy trying not to laugh, he found it impossible to answer Wilson's question properly.

"Oh no, you're not prying at all," he finally said, "you _only_ asked me about the girl's identity! Would you excuse me for a minute, though? I really ought to go back in there and see how _she_ is doing."

Wilson looked confused when he noted the smirk on House's face, but he simply nodded and let his friend disappear for a minute.

Chase nearly fell out of the bed when House burst into the room without giving him any warning; scared that Wilson might be following, he quickly jumped to his feet as part of a reflex.

"Oh calm down, Roberta, it's just me!" House teased him when he saw how anxious Chase was. "Wilson is still in the living room."

"What did you just call me?" Chase had been so nervous that Wilson would ask to see him that he had put on all of his clothes again. He was anxious to find out what had been said and now he was looking at House like he demanded answers. "Greg, what did he say? Was he shocked to find us like that?"

House was walking slowly towards the bed. "Lower your voice," he whispered as he sat down, "Wilson has no idea you're here."

"Really?" Chase didn't know if he should feel relieved or not. "I thought he saw me."

"He only saw your blond hair, apparently. Trust me, he doesn't know it's you."

"And what makes you so certain?" Chase asked him. He thought that maybe Wilson was just too polite to mention him by name.

"He thinks…" House fought back a chuckle. "He thinks you're a girl."

"_What?"_ Chase ignored House when he began shushing him again. "Please tell me you're joking!"

"Hey, you should take it as a compliment. He probably just noted the silky blond hair and the soft, smooth skin of yours and figured I was with a spray-tanning teenage girl. Isn't that great?" House smirked.

"It isn't funny," Chase knew that he sounded miffed, but he didn't care, "I bet you're just saying this to make fun of me. You know I don't look like a girl."

"But someone forgot to tell that to Wilson," House pointed out, "he really couldn't tell the difference, I swear."

"Well, are you going to tell him the truth then?" Chase asked him as he decided to swallow his pride.

House gestured for his employee to sit down next to him. "No," he said calmly, "I have a much better plan."

"Yeah? And what does that involve?"

"Basically, it involves _not_ correcting him."

The couple looked at each other for a moment. Chase could tell that House was deadly serious.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked quietly. "You're not gonna tell him that it was me he saw?"

"No I'm not," House offered him a sly smile, "I'm gonna tell him that I've been seeing a girl for the past couple of months and that I haven't told anyone yet. Maybe I'll tell him it's a nurse from the hospital. I think he'd be happy to hear that."

Chase could tell that House was now expecting him to approve of his plan, but truth be told, it sounded like the worst plan he had ever heard. He knew that House was good and could make Wilson believe lots of things, including this probably, but he didn't really want him to. He secretly wished that he would just tell Wilson the truth so that at least one person in this universe would know about their relationship. He was tired of having to think of new lies all the time.

So far, they had done so much to hide the fact that the two men were living together in this apartment. Chase had barely brought any furniture or personal belongings with him and his name wasn't even on the door. From outside, this apartment solely belonged to House – and no one else. Every now and then, Chase thought, it hurt to think about it.

"I don't know," he finally said and moved a little closer to House, "can't you just tell him it was me? Maybe it's time to tell someone. I think that Wilson would be happy to keep our secret for us."

This idea had House laughing – a little too loudly, even. "I'm sorry, which duckling are you again? I thought Cameron was supposed to be the naïve one of you!"

Chase was secretly annoyed at House for making jokes at this point, but he tried his best to hide it. "What are you saying? Do you think Wilson would be against it? Would he tell Cuddy on us?"

"He wouldn't, but you gotta believe me on this one, Robbie, he would be very shocked and confused. And probably a little jealous as well if I know him right. I mean, why would I pick you as my bed mate instead of him?"

House sent his Wombat a devilish grin, but Chase wasn't laughing.

"I'm serious, House. I don't think you should make up a fake relationship to a girl that doesn't exist. I'm sorry, but I don't think I would be comfortable with it."

Chase immediately felt bad for sounding so demanding and now he looked up at his boyfriend, hoping that he wouldn't be fed up with him after this. Quite on the contrary, though, House only appeared to be amused.

"You know, you're really cute when you're being jealous," House whispered and leaned in to kiss his cheek, "but I've already made up my mind. I know Wilson, he's my friend and I think we better go with my plan."

And just like that, House grabbed his cane and walked back towards the door, ready to face Wilson again.

"Wait," Chase whispered slightly pleadingly, "Greg, please wait a minute…"

"It's gonna be fine," House assured him as he sent him a glare that was more loving now, "if he thinks I'm dating a nurse, he'll be so occupied thinking about that, he'll never get suspicious of us even if he sees us talking together at the hospital. Just wait in here, Robbie. I'll be back as soon as I get rid of him, I promise."

And so he disappeared, and Chase was left to himself again.

He immediately heard House's voice through the door, but he couldn't make out the words that were said. He decided to move a little closer to the door. He disliked the idea of eavesdropping on his own boyfriend and Wilson, too, but he couldn't stand not knowing what was going on.

And then he heard House telling Wilson that his _girlfriend_ was asleep and that he could stay for as long as he liked. He offered him a beer and Chase pictured Wilson getting comfortable on the couch.

"Get rid of him, my ass!" Chase whispered to himself, but he should have seen this coming. After all, he knew that House and Wilson had always shared a special bond that he shouldn't be jealous of. And it had been a while since the two friends had spent a night talking and watching movies together like they used to.

He could hear both of them laughing and more beer bottles were opened. Then Wilson began to ask questions about this make-believe girlfriend and House did not hesitate to make up more lies; he bragged about big boobs, round hips, naughty tattoos and a belly button piercing. Chase wondered if House had just described his own ideal girlfriend or if he had merely described what he thought _Wilson_ might be interested in hearing.

At the fear of this being House's secret fantasy, Chase began to feel very inadequate. He wasn't even sure if House considered himself bi-sexual or not, or if he would still be interested in girls. Could it be that he was, in fact, ashamed of his own sexuality and that this had caused him to lie to everyone?

Chase kept telling himself that he was stupid to worry so much. But to be honest, he didn't know what to do if he ever lost House to someone else. The thought alone was killing him.

House was the greatest love he had ever known. And yet, House could sometimes make him just as miserable as he could make him happy. Especially when he went on acting like Chase's love for him wasn't returned in the same way. Sure, House could be very romantic and affectionate, but he could also be very private and push everyone away as if they didn't matter to him – Chase included.

He knew that he could put up with a lot of things from House – as long as he could be certain that he wasn't ashamed of him and wouldn't leave him if someone better should come along.

He kept telling himself to have more faith in his boyfriend, and his boss, but then again, listening to his laughing with Wilson on the other side of the door made him feel rather lonely. And loneliness could drive even the strongest people mad.

Several hours later, Wilson went back to his own place and House entered the bedroom feeling slightly tipsy. He was a little disappointed to see his Wombat asleep in the bed, but he reminded himself of the fact that it was late and that he had enjoyed the evening quite a lot.

"Goodnight, pretty-boy." He whispered as he bowed down to kiss the kid's forehead. "Talk to you in the morning."

As he undressed himself in the dark, though, House failed to see the young man open his eyes. Chase secretly thought to himself that House's voice had sounded carefree and that his breath had smelled like more than just a couple of beers.

But he refused to think about it.


	4. Revenge

The next morning, House woke up to find himself alone in the bed. At first, he felt slightly concerned to see that his Wombat wasn't there, but then he heard the water running and he figured that he was in the shower.

"_That's weird,"_ he thought to himself and rolled over, _"he didn't even wake me up. He always wakes me, even when I don't have to go to work."_

He began to think about what had happened last night and suddenly, it hit him that Chase might be mad at him. It wasn't that he felt like he had done something wrong, but House knew how sensitive the kid could be. Maybe he was upset with him for ditching him so that he could drink beers with Wilson. Maybe he was upset with him for not telling the truth. House decided to go find out.

"Hey, Wombat!" House called out as he put on his bathrobe. "Wait for me in there!"

He walked towards the bathroom, but just as he entered the door, he heard the water being turned off. And then Chase walked out of the shower, wearing a towel around his waist.

"Did you shower without me?" House exclaimed melodramatically. "Why didn't you wake me up? You always do."

Chase looked up at him as he grabbed a smaller towel that he would usually place on the floor so that House wouldn't slip and take a bad fall on the wet bathroom tiles. "I don't know, you looked tired." He shrugged. "I woke up early so I thought that I should get ready for work."

"Really?" House looked at him sceptically. "You woke up early and you didn't wake _me_ up because I looked tired? What about all the other times when I was really tired and you still woke me up? How would you explain that?"

It was obvious that Chase had to supress a sigh, but he still managed to say: "All the other times I woke you up because I knew you wouldn't be hung over. This time I wasn't so sure."

"Aha! I knew it!" House shouted out in triumph and poked the younger man's ribs with his cane. "I knew that this had something to do with last night. You are mad at me for drinking, aren't you?"

"What? House, don't be silly!" Chase merely took a step back as he wanted to avoid further contact with the cane. "You're a grown man, aren't you? You're allowed to drink, I would say."

"But now you're calling me House instead of Greg! You really _are_ mad at me!" House took a step closer as he wanted to test the kid's patience. "Just admit it, will you?"

"Calling you House is just a habit I grew from working for you." Chase said, now avoiding eye contact because he was busy drying himself with his towel. "You also call me Chase every now and then and you know it."

"Yes, but then again, I have always had many names for you, Blondie." House moved closer once again, almost cornering his employee because he thought that this would piss him off.

Quite the opposite.

Chase was now moving closer as well, and before House even saw it coming, the kid kissed his cheek and said: "Stop trying to pick a fight, Greg. I'm not mad at you." And then he walked out of the bathroom in order to get dressed and get ready for work.

Twenty minutes later, House found himself leaning against the front door, watching his boyfriend packing his messenger bag. Chase was to take the bus this morning because no one at the hospital was supposed to see them arriving together. It was only on their way home that it was safe for Chase to get in the car with House.

"Will you be working in the ICU today?" House asked him solemnly as he was playing with the cane in his hands. "Because that sounds _boring_."

"Yes but I'm supposed to be off your case, remember? So I'll have to find something else to do this week."

"Are you mad about that?" House looked up as he was testing his patience again. "I suppose it's my fault that we can't be around each other at the hospital these days. After all, it was _my_ idea to have lunch together and therefore _my_ fault that Cameron got suspicious."

"No, I don't blame you for that." Chase said and put on his jacket. "For the last time, Greg, I'm not mad so stop quizzing me."

Naturally, House chose to ignore that last remark. "You're mad at me for lying to Wilson. And for wanting to keep our relationship a secret." He said calmly as he swung his cane around, playfully. "You didn't like my plan when I presented it to you last night, but I went on to do it anyway without your consent. So now you're mad at me for making all the calls and ignoring your opinion. Why can't you just admit that I acted like a jerk?"

Chase paused to think about this. "All right," he said as he grabbed his bag and swung it around his shoulder, "would it make you feel better if I admitted that? Yes, you acted like a jerk and yes, you ignored my opinion, but I forgive you, okay? So can we please let it go for now?"

House crossed his arms and scowled stubbornly. "No," he said, "I still want you to say it. Say that you are mad at me."

"No, I will not say it," Chase decided that he could be just as stubborn, "because I am tired of your little games, House."

"_Greg_." House tried to correct him, but he was completely ignored.

"I'm tired of you always wanting to be right. I'm tired of the fact that you are willing to insult me and anger me – just to prove that I'm mad at you. Guess what, it won't happen this time. I'm not mad at you, Greg, because I know what you're trying to do. Last night you were deliberately trying to push me away by doing something that would upset me. You did it because you wanted to test me and see how strong my feelings for you really are before you let anyone else know about our relationship. Are you scared that I will get tired of you and break up or something? Is that why you're keeping this a secret? Because in that case, it hurts me to think that you don't trust me."

Chase was walking towards the front door as he really needed to get going. But his little rant had left House speechless for a moment.

"So, just to sum up," House finally said and pulled one of his usual faces, "you're not mad at me for testing you, but you are hurt that I don't trust you?"

"That's right." Chase said and he tried to look as determined as possible. "Now that you know how I feel, can you please move away from the door? I have a bus to catch."

"Not yet." House told him and prodded him with his cane once again when he tried to move past him. "Because I don't buy it. It's a load of crap. I mean, _how_ can you not be mad at me?"

"I'm just not." Chase shrugged and tried his best to look indifferent.

"Prove it. Make me believe that you're not mad and I will let you go." House smirked devilishly. Oh, how he loved getting what he wanted all the time.

"Come on, you know I'm gonna be late," Chase was beginning to sound annoyed, "what do I have to do to prove it?"

"Kiss me."

"Are you serious?" Chase frowned suspiciously; this was not what he had expected to hear at all.

"Yes, I'm serious," House rolled his eyes impatiently, without even smiling or laughing, "if you can give me a convincing kiss right now, I'll let you go."

Chase knew that House was only asking him this because he believed that he was still too angry to kiss him properly. And then he would use the kiss against him, to prove that he _was_ mad. He knew that he couldn't let this happen.

"All right," he said casually, "at least that's something I know I can do."

And then he did exactly what House thought he would be unable to do; he leaned up close against him, wrapped an arm around his neck and brought his lips down to his own. He kissed him passionately whilst sighing sweetly and it immediately had its effect on House. Both of them tried to deepen the kiss as much as possible, but in the end, Chase made sure to take control by teasing him with his tongue. He ended the kiss by nibbling carefully at his bottom lip, thereby giving House the idea that he was up for so much more than just kissing.

"Did that convince you?" Chase asked him as he pulled back. They were looking into each other's eyes.

House breathed heavily and took a moment to collect his own thoughts. "Either that," he smirked happily, "or you're just really eager for me to let you go."

That being said, though, House stepped aside and let his Wombat walk out the door without complaining again. Before closing the door behind him, Chase smiled and said the reassuring words:

"Maybe we'll run into each other in an empty office during the lunch break? I'm sure very few people will be around by then."

"Oh yeah," House grinned and finally, he felt both satisfied and excited, "maybe we will, baby."

As Chase was running down the street in order to catch his bus, he convinced himself that he really wasn't mad at House. He didn't need to be.

Because he knew exactly how to get back at him for ignoring his feelings. And his revenge would happen very soon.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

As usual, House arrived at the hospital an hour later than every one else. With Chase in the ICU, though, he knew that he was in for a very boring day at the office.

Foreman wouldn't stop talking about a new theory he'd come up with regarding their patient, but of course, his theory was both very wrong and very dull so House just considered it a waste of time. Then Cameron tried to follow his lead, eager to impress House as always, and it just ended up annoying him even more.

"Get your head out of your ass, Cameron," House caught her off when he had had enough, "at least Foreman tried to come up with something original. You both disappoint me. See you in an hour when, hopefully, you have come up with something better!"

House then left the diagnostics room, impatiently waiting for the lunch break to come. It wasn't until 12.30pm that he received the page that was going to make his day a little brighter.

_Meet me in dr. Andrew's office. He will be gone for the rest of the day. – Blondie._

House smiled widely. Oh, the kid was good! He had even embraced House's new nick name for him, even though he had always hated it, and now he seemed to be using it as a cover. If anyone was to read House's pager before him, at least _Blondie_ could refer to a bunch of different people and not just the one and only Robert Chase.

Robert Chase… The kid's name alone never failed to make House smile like an enamoured teenager. He had never thought that he should ever feel so smitten by someone – especially not a mere boy whose rich father had gotten him the job in House's department. But the boy who had once been a spoiled rich kid was now becoming a grown man who could speak and think for himself – and that was what House loved about him the most. He was never afraid to stand up for himself or get back at anyone who did him wrong.

He would even speak up to House when it was necessary. Unlike Cameron who would simply adore him like a stupid teenager in denial – she was blind to every mistake he committed and every scornful comment he made. Chase, though, he saw House for who he really was, his flaws included, and he both understood and loved him for it. And for that reason, House's bond with Chase always seemed so much more genuine than anyone else's.

Unfortunately, House never expected his young crush to have a hidden agenda when he had asked him to meet with him in dr. Andrew's office. Even if House liked the kid's ability to protect himself from injustice and all the stupid people in this world, chances were that he probably wouldn't appreciate Chase's new plan to get back at him.

House knocked on the door to the – almost – abandoned office and it was immediately answered. Chase seemed so eager when he pulled the older man inside and shut the door before anyone should catch a glimpse of the two of them together.

"Oh, someone's in a kinky mood." House grinned mischievously as he felt Chase's arms embracing him and he let himself be pulled closer. "What on earth made you so keen all of a sudden? Was it the kiss I forced you to give me earlier?"

"I just missed you," Chase shrugged and let his head rest at House's shoulder, "pretending that I hate your guts has been harder than I thought."

"Ha! I can imagine," House chuckled, "you just adore me too much, don't you?"

"Sure." Chase giggled sweetly and snuggled closer. "But you knew that already."

"I did."

Chase began to kiss House's face very seductively; it was with the same passion that he had used when he kissed him goodbye this morning and he could tell that House was responding very well to this.

"Hold on," House said and grabbed a hold of the Australian's hands for a moment, "before you get me all worked up, I need to ask you one last time. Are you sure that you're not mad at me? Are you sure that there is nothing for me to apologize for? Last chance, Blondie."

Chase frowned at the nick name, but then he just shook his head determinedly. "I already told you, everything is fine." He said and offered his boyfriend a quick smile. "I'm fine."

"Good," House smirked and for a minute, he looked like the devil himself, "in that case, I won't hold back and I will be much less of a gentleman!"

Having uttered these words, House pushed his Wombat up against dr. Andrew's desk until he was sitting on top of it and he eagerly began to touch him all over. They both initiated another kiss and they both struggled to take control of it, but then House pulled down on Chase's tie to bring him closer and to remind him that _he_ was in charge – as always. He then leaned in until he was basically hovering over the kid and he kissed him so deeply, so thoroughly and so harshly that he had him moaning and panting helplessly.

"Admit it, you love it when I use my teeth." House whispered teasingly in his ear and he began nibbling at it, too.

"You're evil." Was all Chase managed to say before he was kissed fiercely again.

When House slowly started to unbutton his shirt, though, he was so caught up with tasting and feeling up his young employee that he never realized the fact that he had been tricked. The two men were holding on to each other tight, their lips still pressed together, when – once again – the door was opened right behind them.

James Wilson entered and he caught them right in the middle of the action again – only this time, House didn't have a blanket to throw over Chase's head. There was nothing he could do. It was too late.

"Oh no, not again!" Wilson exclaimed out loud and House was so shocked to hear his voice that he turned around to look at him by instinct. Now the two friends were looking each other directly in the eyes and it was so awkward, so painful to acknowledge that there was no escaping this.

"Wilson!" House yelled. "What the hell?" He was still hovering over Chase, holding on to him, even. But now he immediately let go and took a step away from him.

Wilson was now looking at the Australian intensivist who he'd worked with a number of times and known for years. His mouth fell open with surprise and House observed this.

"I'm… I'm s-sorry, I was… I was paged to dr. Andrew's office." Wilson struggled to explain himself. He suddenly didn't know what to do. He'd walked in on two of his male colleagues and now it felt like he had committed a crime for some reason. House looked furious.

"Close the door behind you!" House ordered him angrily. Obviously, he didn't want anyone else to walk in on them. Chase was still sitting on the desk with his shirt half opened and his hair messy – just looking at him would give them away instantly.

"All right, all right," Wilson did what he was asked to do as quickly as he could, "don't worry, there's no one around…"

"Yeah right!" House snorted condescendingly. "That's what I was told earlier when I walked in this office – and now look how crowded the room is!"

House looked as though he was ready to kill someone and so everyone grew to feel even more tensed and edgy.

"House…" Wilson exhaled nervously, but he was interrupted when House held up a hand to stop him.

"You said you were paged to this room, didn't you?" Not even being bothered to wait for an answer, House turned around to look down at Chase who hadn't moved an inch since Wilson walked in the room. And that was suspicious enough as it was. "You!" House cried out and pointed at him, accusingly. "You betrayed me! You planned for this to happen, didn't you?"

Chase sighed and tried to forget about his nerves. House had never looked at him this way before. Not without faking it. This time, though, the anger was very real.

"Greg, please," he started, "obviously, we couldn't keep on lying forever…"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" House grabbed his cane and turned his back on him. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. I knew I shouldn't have believed you when you said everything was fine…"

"Greg, don't be like that." Chase jumped off the table, ready to go after him if he tried to flee the room. "Please listen to me…"

"I asked you a hundred times if you were mad with me!" House practically screamed back at him. "You could have just admitted it instead of pulling this crap! You tricked me into doing something I didn't want and now I can't ever trust you again!"

Wilson – who was fairly shocked to hear the two men argue like this – stepped aside as House began to walk towards the door. He didn't want to get in the way of anyone at this point.

"Please don't say that!" Chase exclaimed nervously. "Greg, don't go, we need to talk about this! Why are you reacting like this? You are not embarrassed to be seen with me, are you?"

Wilson bit his lip and looked at House for a brief second. His friend was looking down at his own feet, too upset to make eye contact with anyone.

"Don't call me Greg anymore," he muttered quietly, "here at the hospital, I'm your boss and nothing more than that."

House slammed the door as he left the room. Wilson watched as Chase tried to put up a brave face, but in the end, he looked more miserable than anything and it hurt to witness that.


	5. Trauma

"He's ashamed of me. I knew it."

Wilson watched as Chase sat down on dr. Andrew's desk again, the hopelessness painted all over his face. He looked pale all of a sudden.

"Hey, don't say that." Wilson tried his best to keep a straight face when really, he still felt too shocked to express any sort of emotion. "I know House – he says things he doesn't mean all the time. Just avoid him for a day or two and let him cool off. That usually helps."

Chase sighed. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this point. "You might be right about that. But avoiding him will be pretty difficult for me to do."

"And why is that?" Wilson asked him calmly.

"Well, we - we have pretty much just moved in together."

"_You have what?!"_ Wilson exclaimed without being able to control himself. And then he instantly regretted it. He saw the look in Chase's eyes when he raised his voice.

"I-I'm sorry, I thought you deserved to know the truth…" Chase began quietly, but Wilson caught him off.

"No, no – I didn't mean it like that. I think it's great news. I'm happy for you guys, but I'm just…"

"Shocked out of your wits?" Chase suggested knowingly.

Wilson sighed and nodded slowly. "Something like that. Forgive me, I really think it's fantastic but I never expected House to agree to something like this. He's always been so… private."

For the first time since House had left the office, Chase was able to smile wryly. "Actually it was his idea. He knew that I was going through a rough patch and he suggested that I moved in with him so that he could keep an eye on me. And it really helped. But now…"

Chase paused and looked down, unable to finish his sentence. He simply didn't know what was going to happen from now on.

Wilson noted his reaction and he couldn't help but to feel bad for the kid.

"Hey, it sounds to me like he really cares for you." He said as he wanted to make him feel better. "I don't think he has ever asked someone to move in with him before. When he was with Stacy, she had to make all the moves because he was acting all… passive and indifferent. Apparently, this is not the case with you. That's a good thing, Chase."

"I know, you're right." Chase forced himself to smile once again, but he was still pretty nervous. "I know he cares for me and I should be happy that he does. But… it's the secrets. I don't know if I can keep on lying to everyone."

"You mean like when House told me that he was seeing a woman instead of you?"

"Yes, that's exactly what bothered me so much. I'm sorry, doctor Wilson, I should never have dragged you into this, but that cover story just hurt me. You're his best friend so I always figured that he would tell _you_ of all people what was going on."

"And when he didn't do that, you felt even more hurt and you became desperate for me to find out. Am I right?"

Wilson took a step towards the Australian. He wanted to show the kid that he wasn't upset with him at all – even though his entire world had just been turned upside down – and that he shouldn't be afraid to confess to him.

"Yes." Chase admitted, but it still looked as though he was feeling uncomfortable. "I didn't want anyone to think that he was dating a nurse instead of me. I know that I was being selfish, but I have tried so many times to make him listen to me. He ignored my feelings completely. I'm sorry that you had to find out about us this way, though."

Wilson chuckled discretely. "It's okay, I think I will manage as soon as I get used to the idea. House doesn't think I'm against it, does he?"

"I don't think so." Chase shrugged. "However, I know that he has a reason for not wanting to tell people. I just don't know what the problem is."

"Well, I can tell you one thing. The problem isn't you." Wilson smiled reassuringly. "He has no reason to be ashamed of you, trust me. It must be something else. Just give him some time to get used to it. I'm sure that he will make the right decision in the end."

"Thanks, Wilson." Chase crossed his arms and looked up. This time, he finally felt relief instead of angst. "I forgot how well you know him."

"Knowing House has its perks, but also its downsides." Wilson admitted. "He can be rude and harsh sometimes, but there is more to him than that."

Chase smiled as he thought about it. "He's worth it." He agreed. "Don't worry, Wilson, I'm not giving up on him this easily. I just hope he won't give up on me either."

"He would be a fool if he did." Wilson grinned. "He seemed so happy the other night when he told me about his new _girlfriend_. He may have told me a lie, Chase, but the joy in his eyes was real. I think you can make each other very happy." The oncologist raised his arm to give his colleague a pad on the shoulder. "So what are you going to do now?"

Chase sighed as he went through his options in his head. "I think I will apologize to him. He was right. I shouldn't have pulled a trick like this one just to get back at him. I should have listened to him all along so I better apologize before he gets even angrier with me. This mess was my own fault."

He moved off the desk once again, ready to go out and look for his boyfriend. He was eager to make it up to him again. He couldn't stand the thought of arguing over this anymore.

"Before you go," Wilson said and made him stop to turn around, "you should know that it wasn't just your fault. It sounds like House made it extremely difficult for you so it's no wonder that you got frustrated. Just don't let him walk all over you. Stand up for yourself every once in a while, all right?"

The two colleagues exchanged a friendly look and then Chase nodded, gratefully. "I will. Thanks again, Wilson."

Before he left the office, he remembered that his shirt was still open and he made sure to button it again before anyone should catch a glimpse of this. After all, he knew that it would be stupid of him to spread any rumours at this point.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House gritted his teeth with anger and punched the wall in his office when he was certain that no one was looking.

Damn him! Damn the kid to hell! He had no right to do what he did… House couldn't get over how demanding Chase had been, how much attention he had craved and yet, he kept asking for more. He kept asking for things that House just couldn't give to him. It was as though Chase expected him to be some sort of knight on a white horse who did and said everything right all the time. He expected him to be both loving and perfect so that he could lean against him for support. He didn't even realize how difficult it was for a man like House. He didn't even appreciate the efforts he had already made…

"He's always gonna ask me for more," House muttered to himself as he sat down behind his own desk, "but I'm not sure if I can give him that."

Sure, it was true that Chase had also given him a lot in return. Not just his affection and his time, but also a great deal of patience and tolerance. He didn't get angry for every mistake House made; he knew how to let the little things go and even swallow his pride at times. In a way, House had made it really difficult for him, but then again, he just wasn't used to this.

He wasn't used to hugs and kisses. To holding on to the person in your bed before falling asleep. He wasn't used to having someone who cared this much. And finally, he certainly wasn't used to being an open book.

If he had had a choice, he never would have shared his feelings with anyone like this. Nor his love. It would have been easier if he could keep it all to himself. But Chase just wouldn't allow him. Damn it. Why did he have to make it so complicated? Why did he have to be so pretty and charming so that House couldn't leave him alone?

To House's knowledge, it was dangerous to show affection for someone. It was dangerous to show people that you cared. Because one day, something bad would be bound to happen and then, the person closest to you would use it all against you. Chase had the power to humiliate him if he wanted to; he had come to know all of House's weaknesses and soft spots and _that_ scared the hell out of him.

Was he really supposed to trust a young, handsome guy like Chase? How could he be certain that he wouldn't move on to be with someone younger and more appropriate for him instead? How could House be certain that he wouldn't try to break his heart?

He loved having Chase close to him at night, but at the same time, he also knew that he ought to push him away every now and then. He couldn't risk surrendering himself to him completely. If he lost himself to someone – even someone he cared about this much – he risked never finding himself again. Not in one piece, at least.

"_I'm not going to let him get away with this,"_ House thought to himself, _"I'm not going to let him turn me soft."_

Suddenly, he looked up and saw Foreman and Cameron entering the diagnostics room. It was time to move on and pretend that nothing had happened.

"Oh Cameron," House exclaimed in his same old taunting voice, "is it this time of month already?"

He looked down at the shirt she was wearing – it was smeared in blood and possibly other fluids as well. She gave him a mean stare and sighed melodramatically.

"Very funny, House, but the patient is getting sicker. She just threw up blood all over me."

Foreman nodded as though he meant to say that this was true. "The treatment obviously isn't working yet." He agreed.

"Obviously." House rolled his eyes, offering no sympathy at all. "I guess this means another long night at the hospital. Not for me, of course. But the two of you might want to invest in keeping a spare toothbrush here."

House had turned his back on his employees, expecting them to leave him alone for now. Truth be told, he wasn't in the mood for complications at the moment. But the sharp tone in Foreman's voice immediately had him turning around:

"No way! You have to let us catch some sleep, House. We've barely been home this week."

House took a look at them as to determine how serious they were. When Foreman continued to look rather fed up, House snorted: "Right! Because you both have people at home who are waiting for you and missing you deeply, I assume?"

Since they all knew that this wasn't the case, it was obvious that House had crossed the line. He knew that he shouldn't take his problems with Chase out on the rest of the team, but he just couldn't help himself.

"House," Cameron said and looked him in the eyes – the same manipulative trick she'd always use to get what she wanted from him, "you know this isn't fair. We can't think clearly if you don't let us rest. Why don't you just put Chase back on the case? He could take the shift for us tonight and Foreman and I will be well rested in the morning."

"Yeah," Foreman agreed and shrugged his shoulders, "that seems fair, don't you think? I know you took him off the case for a reason, but I still think that the rich kid should do his fair share."

"The rich kid, eh?" House repeated and supressed an irritated sigh. "Since when have _you_ trusted him to work without supervision of any kind?"

"Hey, we both know that he's a fine doctor," Foreman's eyes grew slightly bigger, "I'm just saying that he should be working just as hard as the rest of us. Even if that means having him screwing up a test every now and then."

"Is that so?" House smiled, but remained grave. "You call him a fine doctor even when you know that he's going to screw up again?"

"Oh, stop it, both of you!" Cameron caught them off and crossed her arms in a serious manner. "House, I know you're still angry with him for screwing up a simple test, but you hired him for a reason, remember? He knows his stuff and he's been helpful in other cases so don't pretend that we don't need his help. You can't possibly be _that_ angry with him."

She kept staring at him stubbornly and House wanted to laugh at her and patronise her silly, naïve ideas, but instead he just shook his head and muttered:

"Since when did _you_ care enough to defend him?" He returned her stubborn stare because this time, he was truly interested in hearing her answer.

"My concern is for the patient." She said calmly. "You know that."

Her expression didn't change; House chuckled and thought to himself that she wasn't always as sweet and caring as people made her out to be. Rather, she could be almost cold when something or someone failed to impress her.

"Fine," House exhaled heavily and turned his head to look at Foreman instead, "you can have it your way. But since _you_ have really disappointed me, it will be your job to go and fetch duckling number three for me."

"Me?" Foreman frowned confusedly. "How did I disappoint you?"

House shrugged. "You should have been better at convincing me – just like the she-devil over there."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Chase received the message from Foreman, telling him that House wanted to see him in his office, and he immediately came running down the hall. He felt stupid for doing this; people would consider him a simple kiss-ass who was way too eager to show his loyalty to his boss and it only seemed pathetic. But he just couldn't wait to talk to House.

"House!" He said out loud as he opened the glass door into the small office. "I'm so sorry, I never should have…"

He paused when he noted the blank expression on the older doctor's face and it wasn't until then that he noticed the presence of both Foreman and Cameron. They were leaning against the wall in the office, barely visible from the other side of the door. Now they were both looking at him like he had just fallen from the sky – obviously, they didn't understand a word of the situation.

"I… I didn't realise you guys were here." Chase whispered nervously and closed the door behind him, feeling like a complete idiot. He had probably just made everything worse for himself. House certainly didn't look happy.

"What's wrong?" Cameron broke the silence and looked from her boss to her team mate. She sensed that there was a problem she did not yet know of.

"Yeah, what are you apologizing for this time?" Foreman added and narrowed his eyes sceptically. "Did you screw up another test or something?"

"Well, I…" Chase swallowed a lump in his throat and looked at House for help. He just didn't know how to explain this one without upsetting the older man further.

House sighed and stood up from his seat.

"I'll tell you what this is about," he said irritably, "this is about his invasion of my privacy."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Foreman demanded, sounding even more confused.

Chase fell completely silent and stared at House like he couldn't believe it. Where the hell was he going with this? He knew that House would never tell his employees anything about their personal life together. Did this mean that he was making up a new story?

House swung his cane and caught it in the air. He avoided looking at the team in front of him. "It's very simple. Skippy here did something he wasn't supposed to do when he walked in on me and the hot nurse I've been seeing. Since my relationship to her was supposed to be a secret, I had no choice but to break up with her and now I'm expecting this _invader_ to face the consequences. Doesn't that sound fair to you?"

House practically pointed his cane at Chase and suddenly, all eyes were on him. The young doctor could feel his cheeks burning, both with humiliation and anger.

"House, this is ridiculous…" He muttered, but no one seemed to pay attention to this.

"Wait… Are you saying that Chase walked in on you and a hot nurse?" Foreman repeated and pulled a disbelieving face. "And you broke up with her just because he saw the two of you together?"

House shrugged his shoulders and looked calm. "Yep, that's what I'm telling you. Those are the rules. I know what to keep to myself and when my privacy is invaded and tampered with, there must be consequences." House's eyes were rather emotionless as he looked at his Australian employee. "I'm a single man now. It's the only way for me."

Chase felt it as though someone had stabbed him in the heart. Surely House couldn't be serious! He would never break up with him like that in front of Foreman and Cameron, would he? Not for real…

"House, I said I was sorry…" He tried one more time to speak up, but his voice failed him and once again, no one seemed to be listening.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend!" Cameron practically exclaimed and pulled an offended face. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Maybe she was ugly – or fat!" Foreman was speaking quietly now, but everyone heard him perfectly well. His remark even had Cameron sniggering and Chase began to lose his patience.

"Maybe you broke up with her because you felt ashamed of her," he heard himself saying loudly this time, "maybe you're just an arrogant, insensitive jerk!"

Cameron gasped dramatically and Foreman looked at him as though he was insane, but Chase didn't regret his words. He was focusing on House alone; the older doctor smiled evilly and didn't seem to mind his insults at all.

"You know, I called you to my office for a reason," House began coolly, "I'm putting you back on the case. Duckling one and two are tired now and want to go home. That means it's your turn to stay overnight and look out for the patient so she doesn't die on us."

"What?" Chase didn't understand a word of this. "You want me to stay here all night? But I've been here since early morning."

"Oh you poor thing," House played with the cane in his hands and pretended to sympathise, "let me go tell the patient that we don't have the resources to keep her alive over the night. Our precious doctors simply can't function without a good slumber!"

Chase sighed and struggled to just suck it up. He couldn't believe that House would treat him like this in front of his team mates. "No, I'll do it." He said, looking down in the floor. "I guess I don't have a reason to go home anyway."

"Brilliant!" House exclaimed and put on a fake enthusiasm. "That means the rest of us are free to go home. Personally, I intend to enjoy my freedom as a single man once again. I think I will go to a random bar where I can drink myself silly all night long!"

Foreman was smiling, but Chase remained silent and didn't move a single muscle. Cameron looked at him as though she felt sorry, but he didn't need that right now. He stayed where he was until she and Foreman left the office and it was just him and House.

"So," House said and exhaled loudly, "what do you think of your new punishment, Wombat?"

Chase bit his lip and looked the older man in the eyes. He was beginning to look rather detached again.

"Are you keeping me here because you don't want to deal with me at home?" Chase asked him bluntly. "House, I told you I was sorry. I never should have done what I did."

"No, you shouldn't." House's voice didn't reveal any empathy at all. "It was a very stupid thing you did."

"Well… you left me no choice." Chase kept his arms behind his back and tried to look as calm as possible. "You ignored everything I said. It felt like you didn't care about my feelings. Just so you know, House, Wilson is happy for us. There is no reason to feel embarrassed at all."

House grunted and moved a little closer. "Are you saying that you don't regret what you did?" He tested him.

"No, I… I don't know." Chase sighed and felt very tired all of a sudden. "But I can't undo what I did. I guess I was just hoping that you would forgive me for it and let it go."

"Let it go, huh?" House smiled and for a brief second, Chase thought that maybe he was coming to his senses. "We'll see." House added. "Just do your job tonight and we'll see how I feel in the morning. At least I can trust you not to pull any tricks on me while you're with the patient."

Chase wanted to tell him that it wasn't good enough. That he couldn't stand waiting all night to find out if he was forgiven or not. But House was walking towards the door now and it was his usual cue to leave.

"House," he breathed nervously and turned around to look at him one last time, "you're not really going out to drink tonight, are you?"

House paused in the doorway. Suddenly, he had a smile on his face. "See you tomorrow, Wombat." Was all he said.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

As the rest of the team left the hospital for the day, Chase made sure to get to know the patient a little better. He had already met her a couple of times before and he had had a nice talk with her when he had done the scan of her leg. She was a single mother in her late forties. Her husband had died of cancer the year before, but when Chase spoke to her, she seemed cheerful and strong.

She talked about her young son a lot and seemed proud of him. Chase couldn't help but to feel impressed when he looked at her. She had obviously been through a lot, but she was still standing tall. He promised himself that he would pay more attention to the case from now on and do his best to help. It was sometimes painful to watch the patients you couldn't diagnose get even sicker and more depressed. Especially when there was a kid involved.

"All right, Laura, I'm just gonna ask you a few more questions before I go. How bad are your stomach aches tonight?"

Chase tried to offer her a comforting smile, but he could tell that the pale woman in the bed was feeling uncomfortable.

"Um. I'm not sure." She coughed a few times as if to clear her throat. "It's not getting any better if that's what you mean."

Chase took out a small pad and a pen as he wanted to take notes. Even if the stomach aches didn't make sense now, they might make sense later.

"Can you describe your pain on a scale from one to ten?"

Laura thought about it for a moment. "Eight." She said and tried to cough again. "No… nine."

She grimaced and Chase instantly believed her. She did not only look pale; her forehead was sweaty, too. She was beginning to run a fever, he figured.

"All right." He put away the writing pad and looked down at her, feeling kind of concerned. "I'm sorry, I will talk to the nurse. I think you can handle a little more morphine for tonight, but we have to be careful, okay?"

The woman didn't seem to have heard what he said. Suddenly, she was looking into his eyes and she was smiling. "You know…" She paused and took in a deep breath. "You have one of those really pleasant faces, doctor Chase. You know what I mean? You're not just nice to look at, but you seem friendly as well."

Chase froze and forgot everything he had wanted to say to her just a moment ago. He didn't know whether he should take the compliment or not. She sounded like she really meant it, but he also felt humbled by her words. He wasn't used to people saying such things about him.

"Well… Thank you." He did his best to smile instead of blushing. "That's nice of you to say. But how about we focus on you instead, huh? Is there anything I can get you? Are you feeling tired?"

Once again, it seemed like the woman hadn't been paying attention to his words. "I'm serious," she said all of a sudden, "you seem like such a nice young man. I would be happy if… if my son grew up to be like you."

Chase tried to swallow the lump in his throat. For some reason, he felt like he couldn't handle this conversation at all. She sounded so sad now – like someone who had given up hope.

"Your son seems like a great kid," he said, "I'm sure he'll grow up to be a great man as well."

She kept on smiling at him, even when he checked her vitals and her temperature. She fell very silent after a few minutes and Chase thought that it would be best to let her sleep.

"I'm gonna go get a cup of coffee," he told her, taking off his white coat and placing it on the chair beside the bed, "but I will be back to check on you in ten minutes. Is that okay?"

She nodded sleepily and blinked a few times. When he left the room, she seemed happy to get some rest.

Chase went back to the diagnostics room in order to make himself a cup of coffee. He sat down at the table for a few minutes, struggling to keep himself awake at this point. It was nearly 2am.

For a brief moment, he wondered what House was doing. If he had really gone to a bar like he said he would. Would he go there to meet someone or just to get a drink? He honestly didn't have a clue.

He was holding the hot cup of coffee in his hands as he walked back to the patient's room. But he didn't even make it down the hall before one of the nurses came running in his direction. Her scrubs were covered in fresh blood…

"Doctor Chase! Doctor Chase!" She cried and for a moment, it looked at though she was going to have a nervous breakdown in front of him. "You have to come quickly…"

"Sharon? What the hell happened?" Chase could barely believe his own eyes. It looked as though she had just come out of the OR after a complicated surgery, but he knew for a fact that she hadn't.

"Your patient…" she gasped as though she could hardly breathe. "She is… She is…"

Chase didn't wait for her to finish her sentence – he immediately ran down the hall to find Laura's room. What the hell was going on? She had just gotten ready to sleep a few moments ago… He paused in the doorway and the sight in front of him made him drop the coffee out of his hands. A second nurse was standing in front of Laura's bed, her scrubs covered in blood as well.

"She's – she's dead." The nurse turned around to look at him. Her hands were shaking and the tears were streaming down her cheeks. "She cut her own throat."

Chase looked down at all the blood covering the floor around the bed. In the middle of the red pool of blood, he could see his own scalpel shining, reflecting the light in this room. It was the scalpel he had brought with him in his pocket. In the pocket of the white coat that he had left on Laura's chair.

She had used _his_ scalpel to kill herself. He couldn't believe it…


	6. Blame

Chase found himself sitting inside Cuddy's office, feeling exhausted and almost empty inside. So many eyes were watching him as he picked up the phone in order to call House and share with him the news of his patient's death. He reached for the phone and he noticed how Cuddy herself was looking down on him. Well, not on _him_ but at his sleeve. It was still covered in blood after he'd tried to save Laura, without any luck.

"Doctor Cuddy, can I speak with you for a moment?" One of the policemen asked the dean of medicine as he turned his back on Chase.

"Sure." Cuddy muttered, looking just as pale and grave as everyone else in the room.

Chase watched as the two of them stood up to have a private conversation – a conversation that he couldn't be part of because he was going to tell his boss that the patient was dead. He saw Cuddy looking over her shoulder once or twice, looking at _him_ just as the policeman had whispered something to her, and he almost forgot that the phone was dialling. When he heard House answering him from a place that seemed so far away, Chase had to stop and remember what on earth he was going to say…

"_Hello?"_ House sounded grumpy and irritated already.

Chase noticed that one of the other policemen was watching him closely and so he tried to speak as discretely as possible.

"House… It's me." He couldn't believe how weak his own voice sounded. It didn't sound like him at all.

"_Who's me?"_ House demanded; obviously he didn't recognize his voice either.

"House, it's _me_!" Chase tried again as he wanted to speak up. This time, he nearly began to panic as he realized that the sound of House's voice was bringing the tears back to his eyes.

"_Oh."_ House finally recognized his voice, it seemed. _"Dear god, Wombat, you're really bad at introducing yourself over the phone."_

Chase wanted to tell him that this was not the time for mocking him. He could hear someone laughing in the background and he thought that he heard music playing, but he chose to ignore it.

"House, I need you to listen to me, okay? I'm still at the hospital, but something happened. I tried to page you, but you never got back to me…"

"_Yeah, I'm not wearing my pager."_ House admitted openly and it almost sounded like he giggled in the end of the sentence. _"I'm tired of being available to everyone, you see."_

If Chase knew him well enough, he knew that House was trying to provoke him again and make him lose his temper with him, but obviously that couldn't happen. Not here, not now.

"House, I – I lost the patient." Chase heard himself saying and his voice nearly failed him. The policeman was looking directly at him once again.

House remained silent for a short while and Chase feared that he hadn't heard him, but then he said: _"The patient? Do you mean Linda?"_

"What? No, her name is Laura. I mean, _was_…" Chase instantly hated himself for making this mistake and he wished to God that he didn't have to make this phone call. He almost couldn't stand talking about it.

"_Laura?"_ House repeated dully. _"Huh, I could have sworn that it was Linda."_

Chase wanted to shout at him and tell him to stay focused, but he couldn't afford to lose his self-control at this point. Not in front of everyone.

"House, I really need you to come to the hospital," he said bluntly, "the police are here and they are asking me a bunch of questions. You see, the patient – _Laura_ – she… She killed herself." Chase had to swallow a lump in his throat before he could continue. "She used my scalpel to cut her own throat."

He paused and waited for House's reaction, but his boss didn't seem to have anything to say about this.

"House? Are you there?"

And then he heard a small sigh from House as though he was bored.

"_What was wrong with her?"_ He asked simply. _"Was she upset because her name wasn't Linda?"_

"What?" Chase was so shocked that he stood up from his seat. "Did you not just hear me? She's dead, House! Are you drunk or something?" And then he noticed the music and the laughter in the background again. He felt like a complete fool for not having figured this out from the beginning. "You're at the bar, aren't you?" He blurted out accusingly. "You went to the bar to get drunk and now you can't even remember the name of the patient!"

Knowing House pretty well, Cuddy overheard the last bit of the conversation and had a pretty good idea of what was going on. She immediately moved to Chase's side and stole the phone out of his hands.

"House, if you don't get your ass over here right now, there won't even be a new case for you to work on in the future!" She hissed angrily before hanging up the phone.

She then turned to take a look at her Australian employee and for a second or two, she wondered how Chase had had the courage to speak up to his own boss like that and even accuse him of being drunk. But then she remembered that House had the ability to frustrate everyone way beyond their breaking point.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House walked in Cuddy's office around 4am, aware of the fact that they were all expecting him. Truth be told, he had very little idea of what the hell was going on and why he was needed there at this hour. His head was beginning to hurt and he was drunker than he was willing to admit. It was a struggle for him to even walk straight.

"You all better have a really good explanation for this!" House exclaimed as he burst in the door, nearly tripping over his own feet. "Don't you think I have better things to do at home?"

"Actually no, I really don't." Cuddy answered him firmly. "House, sit down."

"I could have had company!" House cried out insistently. "Really _great_ company, if you know what I mean!"

As he sat down in front of Cuddy's desk, though, he took notice of Chase who was sitting on Cuddy's couch, right next to a grave man in a suit that he hadn't seen before. A couple of policemen were standing in the corner, watching the three doctors grimly. He could tell that the Wombat looked pale – and almost shattered for some reason. Had House's joke really offended him? Or was he angry with him because of the drinking?

He sensed that the atmosphere in this room was grave and tense for a reason, but he simply couldn't think straight. He was annoyed that he even had to be here.

"I've seen enough lawyers and policemen in my life to know what this is about." House smirked all of a sudden and looked up at Cuddy who was standing on the other side of the desk, keeping her arms crossed. "This is a lawsuit, isn't it? So what happened? What am I being sued for this time? Oh let me guess, that way it's much more fun…"

"House, don't…" Cuddy tried to make him shut up, but without any luck.

"Are we dealing with sexual harassment of some kind?" House guessed wildly. "Did I grab your ass one time too many?"

Cuddy sighed and looked deeply frustrated. "No. This is about your patient, Laura Hamilton. As you were told over the phone earlier, she has died."

"Oh." House vaguely remembered hearing the name when Chase had been going on and on about something over the phone. But House only remembered the anger in the kid's voice when he had accused him of being drunk again, and it annoyed him that he was always forced into feeling guilty about something. Why couldn't the kid just let the little things go and let him live his life?

"Oh? Is that all you have to say about that?" Cuddy frowned.

"I don't know." House simply shrugged. "It depends what she died of. But since you all _insisted_ on having me here – in the middle of the night – I assume that her death has something to do with me."

The grave man in the suit – who looked a lot like a lawyer, by the way – stood up from the couch and walked towards House's chair.

"Doctor House, were you and your team ever able to diagnose Laura Hamilton's mysterious stomach aches? Were you aware of the fact that Mrs. Hamilton seems to have swallowed a sewing needle before admitting herself in this hospital?"

"What?" House's head was beginning to throb with pain and he couldn't think of anything clever to say. "She swallowed a sewing needle? You've got to be kidding me!"

The man in the suit looked at him seriously – he most certainly wasn't kidding. "Doctor House, your patient committed suicide a few hours ago by cutting her own throat, using a scalpel that she had stolen out of doctor Chase's pocket…"

"She – she didn't steal it," Chase tried to speak up, but his voice continued to be weak, "the scalpel was in the pocket of my coat, but I left the coat in her room because I knew I would be back in a short while. I mean… she must have seen it there. Or maybe it fell out of the pocket or something…"

"Oh, so you're saying that you left the scalpel behind as a recommendation for Mrs. Hamilton to use it?" One of the policemen interfered harshly.

House noted the angst in Chase's eyes when these words were spoken and he watched as the kid stood up, infuriated and eager to defend himself. "I didn't encourage her to do anything!" He shouted heatedly. "I didn't know that she was going to…"

He obviously couldn't say the words out loud, so the room grew silent again.

The man in the suit turned to look at House once more. "Doctor House," he spoke slowly, "one might wonder how you and your teamed failed to find the sewing needle in the woman's system. Didn't you order an MRI of her…"

But House wasn't paying attention to him; instead he was going through the story in his head. He needed an extra minute to think it all over, but the minute he had, he felt outraged. Swallowing a sewing needle to screw up your own stomach? Of course this woman had been suicidal! She had basically been crying out for help and attention all along.

"_How the hell could you be so stupid?!"_ House yelled at the top of his lungs and everyone else turned silent. "This is the most irresponsible thing you have ever done!"

He was looking directly at Chase who seemed to have frozen on the spot. He noted the bloody sleeve, the messy blond hair and the red eyes and he could tell that the kid had been on the verge of desperation. However, House didn't take this as indication for him to back off, but rather, he took this as a sign of Chase's guilty conscience and he knew that it was true: Chase was the one to blame for this and he was only right to feel tormented with guilt. He should have stayed with her, he should have paid more attention – he should have done something to stop her. _Anything_.

"How could you leave her alone with your scalpel?" House continued to shout. "Didn't it occur to you at all that this might be a bad idea? Did you _really_ have to push her over the edge like that?"

House knew that this was the alcohol talking and that he didn't need to get this angry, but he couldn't help himself. Chase had made him feel guilty about so many things in the past. Now it was House's turn to point fingers and feel superior. This time, _he_ wasn't the one who had screwed up royally.

"Are you saying that this is my fault?" Chase blurted out and his eyes grew even wider. "How was I supposed to know that she wanted to kill herself? If I had known, I would never have…"

"But you did!" House caught him off mercilessly. "You left her alone with a scalpel and now she's dead! How is that not being irresponsible? I never should have put you back on this case – I knew you wouldn't be able to focus on anyone else but yourself!"

House was so furious that he just wanted to keep on yelling and yelling, but for some reason, he stopped himself after his last remark. He got a feeling that he had crossed some invisible line all of a sudden. That he had said something that he wasn't supposed to say out loud.

"Doctor Chase, is this true? You were taken off the case to begin with?" One of the policemen took a step towards him and House could basically see the Wombat grow smaller. "What did you do? And why were you put back on the case if you weren't up for the task?"

Chase's heart began to pound even harder and he thought that he was going to be sick. What were these people suggesting? That he was the reason this woman had died? No, it couldn't be true! They got it all wrong…

"He was taken off the case because he couldn't keep focus," House repeated and chuckled scornfully, "he was occupied with everything else _but_ the patient. And I was wrong to give him a second chance."

House knew that this wasn't true, but for some reason, it didn't matter to him. He was sick and tired of being nice and patient and pay attention to all the kid's many problems. He had been out drinking because he wanted for forget about all the problems that Chase had brought into his life – telling Wilson about their relationship was still the worst betrayal of all – and his night had been ruined when he was called and ordered back to the hospital. Once again because _Chase_ had screwed up and failed to complete a simple task.

"House, you know that's not true!" Chase exclaimed anxiously when all eyes were on him. "I _did_ keep focus. I even wrote down notes about her condition and I took my time to ask her about the pain in her stomach. I did my job just like Foreman or Cameron would have done it!"

Cuddy watched her Australian employee sympathetically now. She knew that he wasn't responsible for Laura Hamilton's death and she knew that House knew it, too. She felt bad for him, but she couldn't speak about this case. She barely knew anything about it.

The man in the suit decided to go back to quizzing House once again, and he demanded to know how the team could have missed the sewing needle in the poor woman's stomach, but he was still ignored. House had said everything he wanted to say for now – he refused to utter another word. He was using all his strength to convince the people in this room that he was sober enough to have this conversation when really, he could barely even remember how he got from the bar to the hospital.

"I'm going home," House heard himself mutter grumpily as he reached for his cane, "if anyone else dies on Chase's watch tonight, leave me out of it!"

As he was walking towards the door, House looked over at his Wombat who was now standing all alone in this room amongst the lawyers and the policemen. He knew that he would probably never forgive himself for leaving the kid behind like this, but he couldn't think about forgiveness now. At this moment, he only cared about surviving this crappy night and his own killer head ache.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

The following morning, Foreman and Cameron were rather surprised to find the diagnostics room empty. They had expected Chase to be there to give them an update on the patient – or at least he should have left a detailed note in the patient's files.

"Should we call House and tell him that Chase didn't do his job?" Foreman joked as he was making himself a cup of coffee. "I bet he checked out of the hospital as soon as the rest of us went home. He obviously didn't care enough to stay."

Cameron opened her laptop and shook her head at him. "You're not telling House anything until we know where he is and why he left."

"Hey, I'm not saying that I can't understand his reasons for bailing," Foreman shrugged, "I mean, I would have hated it if I had been asked to stay as well."

"You _were_ asked to stay to begin with, and so was I." Cameron reminded him with a frown. "But then Chase was given the assignment of staying instead, because we complained about it so much."

Foreman snorted. "True, but giving Chase the assignment of staying was _your_ idea, Cameron. Don't pretend to feel sorry for him when it's your fault that he switched places with us."

Thirty minutes went by and there was still no sign of either House or Chase.

"That's it, I'm calling him." Foreman sighed impatiently and got up from his seat. "This is a complete waste of time…"

"No wait," Cameron held up her hand in order to stop him, "I think doctor Cuddy's coming this way."

And indeed, Cuddy was walking down the hall and she entered the diagnostics room before Foreman got a chance to pick up the phone.

"Doctor Foreman, doctor Cameron," Cuddy nodded as to give them a rather formal greeting, "I am here to inform the two of you about something that happened to your patient last night."

"Our patient?" Cameron repeated sceptically. "Do you mean Laura Hamilton?"

"Is she all right?" Foreman immediately asked and sounded concerned.

Cuddy sighed and shook her head. She had been making phone calls all morning and she hated having to give people these kinds of messages.

"I'm afraid that she has died." She said as she grabbed one of the patient's files that were still lying on the glass table. "I'm sorry that you didn't receive a message from me earlier, but it's been extremely hectic…"

"She died?" Cameron caught her off. "Oh my god, how did that happen? I thought her condition was under control!"

Foreman fought an inner battle, trying to decide if he should keep his mouth shut or not, but in the end, it was impossible. "Chase should have stayed at the hospital over night!" He blurted out. "House had ordered him to look after the patient, but I'm assuming that he just took off when no one was watching him…"

"No!" Cuddy raised her voice determinedly and threw the file back down on the table. "Doctor Chase _did_ stay with the patient right until the time of death. In fact, there was nothing he could have done to save her if you ask me. Laura Hamilton committed suicide in her room by cutting her own throat and there is no way that doctor Chase could have predicted that."

Cameron's eyes grew big and she raised a hand to cover her own mouth. Foreman seemed just as shocked to hear this, although he was not yet speechless.

"How the hell could she commit suicide in her room?" He demanded as though it was the most outrageous thing he had ever heard. "She didn't have access to any kind of medicine, she didn't have any pointy or sharp objects on her…"

"You're right, she didn't." Cuddy agreed with him. "But she managed to find doctor Chase's scalpel in the pocket of his white coat. He had left the coat behind in her room when he went to get a cup of coffee. We still don't know why this happened, but apparently, Mrs. Hamilton was suicidal from the moment she was admitted here. She swallowed a sewing needle to injure herself – that was why she was complaining about the severe stomach aches."

"Oh my god…" Foreman almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. "A sewing needle? But we asked her about the stomach aches a hundred times! How could we have missed that?"

"I don't know." Cuddy sighed. "That is what we'll spend the next couple of days trying to figure out."

"I don't get it," Cameron shook her head and frowned again, "she didn't seem suicidal to me! I've left my coat and my scalpels behind in a patient's room a number of times before."

"We all have." Foreman added solemnly. "And scissors, and razor blades, and…"

"Doctor Chase was just unfortunate, I think." Cuddy interrupted him. "However, there will be consequences until we figure out how the hell this could happen."

"Consequences? What do you mean by that?" Cameron quizzed her. "You're not going to punish us for something we couldn't possibly know about, are you?"

"Not you," Cuddy shook her head, "but doctor Chase will be suspended from working on House's cases for a week. Until the hearing is over."

"What hearing? This doesn't seem fair!" Foreman objected. "If that woman wanted to kill herself, none of us could have done anything to stop her and you know it."

"Yes, I do know it," Cuddy admitted, "but I don't get to decide Chase's fate from now on. Hopefully, the hearing will go well and they will all realise that her death wasn't his or House's fault, but until then, there is nothing I can do to protect them."

"Wait…" Cameron said. "House is in trouble, too? Why?"

Cuddy shrugged, as though she didn't know what to tell them. "All I know is that people wonder why nobody found that sewing needle in her stomach. At the hearing, they are probably going to try and turn this into a case of medical negligence."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House woke up around noon, bathed in his own sweat and with a sudden urge to vomit. He hurried from the bedroom to the toilet, but when he was leaning over the bathroom sink, nothing came up.

"My head…" He muttered to himself. "I feel like I'm dying."

After breathing in and out a couple of times, he found the bottle of aspirins and limped into the kitchen. Whilst making himself a cup of coffee, he looked around and thought to himself how quiet the apartment seemed.

Chase wasn't home, he realized slowly. Where the hell did he go? He hadn't left any messages, it seemed.

"_I bet he doesn't want me to find him."_ House thought as he swallowed the first pill. _"But I have to, don't I?"_

He decided to wait around for a while before doing anything drastic. After a cup of coffee and a few aspirins, he felt better and even decided that he wanted to eat something. Chase would usually make him breakfast, but now it appeared that he was on his own. Damn.

He ended up burning both his eggs and his bacon, but he ate it in front of the TV anyway. He needed it if he wanted to survive this day. It wasn't only the hangover that concerned him. He remembered saying a lot of things to the kid last night that he already regretted. He remembered how angry he had felt, even though this wasn't even about him. It was about the death of a woman. _A very stupid woman,_ he thought cynically.

He knew that he had hurt Chase. At the time, it had felt like a reasonable thing to do. Hell, he had even _wanted_ to hurt him. But now, he knew that he couldn't have made a worse mistake than this. The kid had had so many issues and doubts about himself and this would only make things worse. House had been meaning to show his Wombat that he could trust him, but now he wondered – was he even worth trusting?

"I'm a much bigger screw-up than he is." House told himself. He was beginning to lose hope.

A very quiet hour went by and he was beginning to feel scared. Where was he? Did he even come home to sleep? He knew that he couldn't have stayed at the hospital after being suspended. He must have gone _somewhere_…

Who did the kid have in this city, besides House? No one, House thought. He doesn't have anywhere to go or anyone to go to.

He tried to call his cell phone a few times. There was no answer, of course. When he was beginning to feel desperate, he called both Wilson and eventually Cuddy, too. Neither of them had heard anything from him and they both insisted that he hadn't spent the night at their place. He almost considered calling Cameron or Foreman, too, but the idea only seemed ridiculous to him. Since when had the ducklings ever helped each other out with anything?

House went outside to see if the car was still there or not. It was.

"_Damn it,"_ he thought, _"I'm going to drive around in circles in this damn city until I find him!"_

And that was exactly what he did. He had been driving around aimlessly for an hour or two before he finally knew where to go. He wouldn't find the kid in any sort of bar, or pub, or tavern. He hadn't gone out drinking.

The Catholic church. He felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. Oh, this was so typical of the Wombat. Dramatic as always. Of course he had chosen to bring God into this mess!

He parked outside the church and popped a couple of Vicodin before going in. It was a very bright day. The sun was shining…

"You idiot!" House cried out loud when he spotted Chase on the front row, near the altar. "You stupid idiot!"

Chase looked over his shoulder and watched quietly whilst House approached him. He was looking even more horrible than he'd done last night. His hair was still a mess and his sleeve was still covered in dark blood, but he was paler now and there were dark semi-circles underneath his eyes. He hadn't slept at all, House realised.

"You idiot," he said again as he reached the kid's chair, "this is where you've been hiding all morning? And you did not think to call me and let me know where you were?"

"House," Chase whispered hoarsely, "this is not a very good time…"

"Oh don't give me that! Do you know how long I've been looking for you?" House almost wanted to whack him with his cane. "Do you know how worried I was?"

Chase looked up to meet his gaze, but tiredness was the only emotion he could express at this point. "Sorry." He said without even trying to sound like he meant it.

"Sorry? You're saying sorry now?" House grunted. "Yeah well, I know you don't mean it so you might as well quit it. What the hell are you sitting around here for? We have chairs at home too, you know!"

"I'm waiting for the priest," Chase said slowly, "he told me he'd be ready for my confession in a little while."

"For crying out loud…" House sighed. "Let me guess – you're gonna tell him that you're a murderer and then ask for God's forgiveness? Chase, you didn't kill anyone… She did that to herself."

House sat down on the chair next to him. Chase didn't look convinced at all. Instead, he looked slightly amused.

"That's not what you were telling me last night…" He snorted.

"Will you forget about last night!" House told him firmly. "I was drunk and you know it. I said a lot of things that I didn't mean."

Chase was quiet for a moment, but then he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Wilson says that you say things you don't mean all the time." He whispered.

House disliked the idea of Wilson having that conversation with his Wombat, but it didn't matter anymore. "He was right." He admitted tiredly. "Is that what you want to hear? I say stupid things that I don't mean all the time…"

"But it wasn't stupid," Chase objected, "you were right. I should have done something to save her…"

"No, listen to me. There was nothing you could do. She killed herself, Robert, and that wasn't your fault!"

Chase shook his head. Not because he wanted to be difficult, but because he was too tired to listen. "I'm not going to change my mind about this. I'm sorry, House, but I will have to talk to the priest."

"No, you won't! I don't want you to tell a stranger that you murdered someone when you didn't!" House exclaimed. "Come on, let's go home instead and talk this out."

"I can't." Chase looked away from him. "She died because I wasn't paying attention. There's nothing else to say about that."

"Oh hell, there is!" House practically shouted and his voice echoed inside the church. "Look, you need to come with me, Robbie. You haven't slept and you haven't had anything to eat, I'm sure. Just let me take you home and we can talk about this as much as you want."

"No." Chase insisted. "I can't."

Finally, House lost his patience with him. "Last chance, Wombat. Will you go out to the car with me or do I have to drag you?" When Chase refused to answer him, House added: "Fine. I'll drag you out, then."

And then House used all his strength to pull the kid up from the seat and push him all the way down the isle, towards the exit.

"No, don't!" Chase tried to stop him. "Let go of me, House, the priest will be here any minute…"

But for some reason, House had a feeling that the kid wasn't using all his strength to resist. He managed to drag him all the way out of the church and into the car. When they were both seated and ready to go, though, the tears began to roll down Chase's pale cheeks and slowly, he gave in and sobbed loudly.

"Hey," House whispered as soothingly as he could, "don't do that. Please, Robbie, don't cry."

But it couldn't be helped. Chase was crying and he didn't know how to stop.

"I'm sorry, Greg," he choked, "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to save her…"

"It's okay," House unfastened his seat belt and pulled Chase into his embrace, "it wasn't your fault, kiddo. You did everything you could."

House hugged him tightly and he allowed him to cry for as long as he needed to. He could feel the kid shivering and it concerned him a great deal that he was in this state already.

"I didn't know that she was going to kill herself…" Chase sobbed against House's shoulder and he felt so tired that he thought he might pass out.

"I know," House told him again and again, "it wasn't your fault, Robbie. It wasn't your fault. Listen… I love you. And I'm sorry for saying all those awful things to you. I'm not gonna let them blame this on you. Let me take you home, okay?" House touched his teary cheek with his hand and he made him raise his chin so that he could lean in and kiss him. He kissed him as slowly and tenderly as he could. "Let me take you home, and I promise you that we will work it all out together. Everything is going to be all right."


	7. Love

By the time they got back to the apartment, Chase felt like he had been drained of all his energy; he couldn't shake the feeling of having a sudden numbness growing inside of him. House looked at him worriedly and told him to sit down on the couch while he fixed him something to eat.

"Really? _You're_ gonna cook?" Chase tried to tease him, but he was too exhausted to even smile.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny," House gestured that he should sit down before falling too tired to even stand up, "for your information, I only need one ingredient to do my magic, and that, my dear, is a well-functioning phone."

House took out his phone and called for a delivery to both him and Chase, but before he had even finished the ordering, he turned around to see that the Wombat had fallen asleep on the couch. He decided to have the food delivered anyway; the kid had to eat whenever he woke up. But for now, House was certain that he was fairly sleep-deprived and needed to rest more than anything else.

In fact, he could probably use a short nap himself. As soon as the food arrived, he put it all in the fridge and laid down next to Chase on the couch. He held on to him, quietly enjoying being near him again. In spite of everything that had happened, his feelings for him had never been stronger.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Chase was too far away to feel House's arms surrounding him.

In his weary dreams, he saw his mother lying in bed, empty bottles on the floor and the sheets covered in fresh vomit. She looked up and caught Chase staring at her and she began to scream at him, telling him to look the other way. He looked down at the bottles on the floor – she had such an expensive taste, he thought – and when he looked back up, he saw his mother's face once again. This time, she was dead. Her eyes were still open, but he knew that she was gone. That she was no longer with him. Her skin was pale, but slowly beginning to turn blue, and her body was very stiff. He could still spot the drool and the vomit around her mouth, in her hair and on her shirt.

Laura had had blood dripping from her mouth instead. And from her cut throat. The look on her face had been kind of similar, although her body had still been warm when she was found. Her eyes had been open, too, though…

_She left without warning me,_ Chase realized. _My mom left me without even saying goodbye. And now I'm all alone._

_People leave all the time. They just disappear without a word. The world is such a lonely place to be…_

Then he remembered being at the funeral and seeing his mother's coffin being lowered down in the ground, and he wanted to yell and scream that this wasn't right. That it was too soon and that he wasn't ready to let go of her. He wanted the whole world to stop – or end. Or even better, he wanted to follow after her so he wouldn't have to live on all by himself…

House moved on the couch and Chase felt a pair of arms hugging him tightly. He was so startled by the touch that he jumped – not knowing who the arms belonged to, he instinctively tried to push the other person away from him. And as a result, House fell off the couch and landed on his back on the floor and he pulled Chase with him so that the kid landed on top of him.

House moaned loudly and Chase jumped again, still not realizing what was going on and where he was.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" House panted, trying to recover from the hard fall. "Did you just push me down from my own couch?"

Chase felt almost out of breath when he opened his eyes and looked down to find House. How the hell did he get here? When did he fall asleep? Had House been sleeping next to him?

"Greg," he gasped and tried to move off of him, but his body was shaking too much, "oh no, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I really didn't know what I was doing…"

"You didn't know what you were doing?" House repeated questioningly. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Did I scare you? Did you mistake me for a rapist or something?"

"No, I just… I didn't…" Chase breathed heavily and tried to think of something to say, but it was no use. House looked upset and he felt stupid for having made a scene. "I suppose I felt a little… scared." He then admitted.

"Scared? Scared of what?" House sat up as soon as Chase got off of him. His back was a little sore, but it was his leg that was killing him now. "I sleep next to you all the time, remember?"

"I know, but… I just felt so – so…" Chase was still shivering heavily and having trouble catching his breath.

House looked up at him and he finally understood. "Oh." He muttered delicately and regretted making such a big deal of this. "Are you saying that you had a nightmare?"

He could tell that the kid had been sweating and that his cheeks were red with excitement. He saw it in his eyes – he had been on the verge of having a panic attack of some kind. It must have been some hell of a dream.

"I-I'm sorry if I hurt you." Was all Chase said. "Here, let me help you up."

"No, it's fine. Just – just give me my Vicodin, would you?"

When they were both seated on the couch once again and House's leg was beginning to feel better, the silence between them began to feel odd.

"Do you want to talk about it?" House asked him.

"No." Chase shook his head. "It's okay, it was nothing."

"Yeah well, _'nothing'_ just kicked me to the floor and messed up my back, too." House huffed.

"I'm sorry." Chase whispered.

"Don't apologize, just tell me the truth." House demanded. "Was it a bad dream?"

Chase sighed. "Yes. A very bad one."

"What about?"

"My mother… And Laura Hamilton."

Chase looked away from House as though he felt ashamed of himself. He was obviously too shaken to describe the nightmare any further.

"It's all right." House told him. "Dreams can be horrible and unpleasant, but they don't have to mean anything. Just forget it, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Chase suddenly felt like such a child and it all seemed ridiculous to him. He was a grown man and his mother had been dead for over ten years. There was no reason for him to go back to grieving like that – not now and not to this extent.

"Sure." He chuckled tiredly. "You're right, dreams don't mean anything. It's all forgotten about."

House thought about it all for a moment. "You know," he said as he looked down at his watch, "you were only asleep for an hour or so. Considering the night you had, I suggest you try and sleep some more."

"No," Chase told him instantly, "no, it's okay. I'm really not that tired anymore. I – I prefer this."

"What?" House asked him.

Chase bit his lip and looked up at him. "Being close to you."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House basically kicked the bedroom door open with a loud bang; there was no time to stop or break the kiss. Their lips were sealed, their bodies pressed up against each other's. They had to stay this way; it was the best comfort.

House took a few steps backwards before sitting down on the bed. Chase immediately placed himself in his lap, impatiently unbuttoning the older man's shirt and kissing him whilst doing so.

"What made you so eager all of a sudden?" House breathed against his lips, sounding slightly impressed with him. "You're so hot for me that you're almost taking the lead for once."

"You said you loved me earlier." Chase answered him and tore the shirt off his body. "When we were sitting in the car."

"So? I've told you that before." House argued, wrapping his arms around the kid's back, pulling him closer.

"No you haven't," Chase whispered and began to kiss his naked chest, "today was the first time."

"What?" House didn't understand a word of this. "I've told you lots of times before!"

Chase kept on kissing him as though it didn't matter. "No, _I_ have told _you_ that I love you lots of times. But you, Greg, have only ever said 'you too, kiddo'. It's not the same thing."

House snorted. "Sure it is! They are three different words, but they mean the same thing, you know. They are just less romantic, I suppose."

Chase grinned all of a sudden. "Yes, but that would still make the difference, Greg."

House then moved his hands and took a hold of the kid's shoulders as to create a distance between them. He wanted to make sure that he had Chase's full attention.

"Listen to me, Robbie, you know that I've been wanting to say those words to you all along, don't you? It's just that I've never been very good at it. I'm not good at being considerate and romantic, I guess."

Chase sighed and looked him in the eyes. "But you still meant it, right? When you said it to me earlier?"

"Of course I did!" House almost sounded outraged at the idea of never having meant it.

"Great, then that's all I need." Chase kissed his lips. "As long as you love me, I don't care how unromantic and awkward you feel. I love you too, Greg."

Chase pushed him down on his back and lied down on top of him. House couldn't get over his own luck; he felt like he had said way too many stupid things lately to expect this kind of action from the younger man. And yet now, he was making himself comfortable in the bed, enjoying the feeling of the Wombat's pleasant weight on top of him.

He suddenly remembered how lucky he had felt the first time he got Chase to sleep with him. Naturally, he had acted all superior as though Chase was the one who should feel grateful to receive his boss' attention, but secretly, House had always wondered how a good-looking, young guy like Chase could even be interested in an old, crippled man who would spend most of his days being grumpy.

He remembered how enamoured he had felt after they had had sex for the first time. It was like being under a powerful spell that couldn't quite be explained. Chase had allowed House to feel something that he had never truly felt before. House recalled the days after their first 'lay'. At work, he had caught himself staring at the Wombat's ass a hundred times, silently admiring his slim waste and longing to force himself inside of him once again. With Chase, he had been allowed to let himself go and be as rough as he wanted. At first, of course, he had only cared about outdoing himself time after time, he had only cared about reaching the state of ecstasy, he had only cared about making the younger man scream out his name and beg for mercy. Beg for more.

But there had been a gradual change. House had begun to appreciate certain details that weren't of any sexual nature. Like how much he enjoyed the kid's smile. And making him laugh. And the talks they had in bed together, right before Chase would collect his clothes and let himself out of House's apartment. He had also begun to feel oddly hollow inside every time the younger man had walked out of the door. However, it had still taken him forever to gather the courage and ask him to stay and spend the night there.

Developing the relationship had taken them a while, but House was grateful to be where they were at this point. He could finally be honest about his feelings and he could finally let them show without feeling like a complete idiot. Chase didn't think of him as a mean old man – or a mere cripple whom he could feel sorry for.

This was genuine. This was meant to last, he had decided.

So when Chase jumped him like this and attacked his entire body with kisses, House knew that he shouldn't let himself get rough like he used to. Not this time. The kid had been through something that he didn't quite understand and he was obviously upset. And just like old times, he was scared of being rejected as well.

House knew that he couldn't keep acting like this was just meaningless, wild, animal sex. However good it was, it had to be more than that. This time, it had to reveal his love – it had to be more tender and caring.

He could feel Chase changing his position and the kissing was taken further down south; the kid seemed to be following House's hairline. He had started with the chest, had then followed the hairs down to the belly button, and now he was moving past it, tracking the hairs down to a very specific place.

House bit his lip; he obviously enjoyed himself immensely, but at the same time, he knew that this – for his part - was rather selfish sex. It didn't seem right today. He gasped and pushed the kid's head away from his own lower regions, as gently as he could. When Chase looked up at him as if to ask if he did something wrong, House just sat up and pulled him closer. When they were face to face again, House flipped himself and the Wombat in order to change their positions completely; _he_ wanted to take initiative from now on.

"Come here, you," House whispered and grinned playfully, "I want to be able to look into that pretty face of yours."

He bowed down and kissed Chase thoroughly, trying to slow down the pace – but not the eagerness. He still wanted it to be passionate, but perhaps sensual, too.

Chase gave into this immediately. He allowed House to take over and place himself on top of him. He loved it when their kisses were slow and lasting, he loved it when he could feel House taking his time to taste him, to grab him and feel him up softly. He loved the feeling of House's short stubble scratching his face. He began to moan blissfully, relaxing his entire body.

House tugged at his shirt and pulled it over his head, slowly. Then he unzipped his pants, too, and it was a sensation that had Chase gasping.

"Greg…" He breathed, but House cut him off.

"We're just going to do this nice and slowly," he whispered and helped him out of the pants, "don't worry, baby, there's no rush."

Chase then realised what House was doing and he allowed himself to enjoy it all the way. He didn't have a single care in the world anymore. All he wanted was to feel House, to be as close to him as he possibly could. He knew that he wasn't alone now. And what a wonderful feeling that was…

When they were both ready, House let Chase turn around to lie down on his stomach. As he lowered himself down to lie on top of the kid's naked back, he didn't push himself inside him immediately. Instead, he slowed everything down even further. He kissed his bare shoulders and wrapped his arms around his body, caressing the tanned skin and feeling up the flat stomach.

"Do you have any idea how dear you are to me?" House whispered in his ear, and Chase nearly shivered. "I could never let go of you. Not in a million years."

He leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Chase took in a deep breath. This was something that he had longed to hear for a very long time. He hoped that House wasn't just saying this because he felt guilty about what had happened last night. He closed his eyes and decided not to question his actions.

_Just enjoy it, you fool. Of course he means it…_

"I need you, Greg," Chase then told him and bit his own lip, nervously, "I need to feel you."

House smiled at the thought of the kid longing for him like this and he kissed his shoulder one last time.

"All right," he said, "if you're ready for it, so am I."

House decided to let him feel his throbbing hard erection; he rubbed his penis against him a couple of times. Normally, he enjoyed to tease the kid when he was more than ready to go, and he would let the tip of his penis rub against him for a very long time without actually impaling him. And then, when he _did_ impale him, he would do it very suddenly. He loved taking him by surprise and he loved the gasps that Chase would always make when he hadn't seen it coming.

But he couldn't do that now. In fact, House was only rubbing his erection against him because he felt like he should warn his Wombat before thrusting into him. He didn't know why, but a warning seemed like the kind of thing he needed at the moment.

"All right," he whispered, "here I come."

Chase was rather surprised to hear House telling him this. Not once did he ever bother to let him know when he was going to 'take the next step'. But now that he did, Chase felt a little relieved. He now knew what to expect and for that reason, he felt prepared.

House penetrated him slowly and he held his breath. He let out a small noise when House began to thrust, even though he was more careful than ever.

"Hey, you need to relax your body," House leaned in and kissed the back of Chase's neck, "it's okay, baby, I promise I will do it slowly."

As soon as Chase felt House's lips on his skin, he felt assured that this was going to be different from the sex they usually had. Knowing that House really wanted to do it slowly for once, he finally felt like he could appreciate it fully.

House began to thrust again and he was nearly all the way in. Chase let out a moan of excitement this time – he was ready to take him all in. House forced himself further in and finally, he was balls—deep. It felt wonderful.

"You make me so happy, Robbie," House whispered and closed his eyes, savouring the throbbing that wouldn't stop, "don't you ever forget that."

Chase wanted to say something in return, but when House began to move, he lost himself completely. Instead of using his words, he gasped and moaned blissfully. House had created a nice and slow rhythm that managed to please both of them immensely, and for every thrust, things got more exciting.

_He means it, _Chase finally decided._ Of course he means it._

House moved in and out of him carefully. His thrusts weren't aggressive or desperate, but loving and deep-felt. For a weak, soft moment or two, House thought to himself that this was what it meant to make love instead of just having sex. But then again, why make everything so girly when he was having the time of his life?

He kept going and he gave it all he had. For how long, he didn't know. Time had ceased to exist, or at least it had ceased to matter. He moved in and out of the kid whilst holding his hands, letting their fingers intertwine. He didn't stop until, finally, Chase let out a small cry that indicated that he had climaxed – that he couldn't take it anymore. And only then, House allowed himself to come and empty himself in order to make the throbbing go away.

He, too, let out a cry that he had never heard before. If only he had known that his body was able to feel this kind of pleasure… There was nothing like it.

House stayed on top of Chase for a short while, breathing heavily, feeling unwilling to let go of him. Unwilling to pull out of him, too. They were still holding each other's hands, and now Chase brought House's palm close to his lips so that he could kiss it.

"That was the best." He whispered, sounding genuinely happy but exhausted as well.

House chuckled. "I'm glad you liked it, baby. I did, too."

Chase smiled at the thought of House's tenderness, but in the end, he simply couldn't keep from asking the question that was on his mind. No matter how rude it made him feel.

"You didn't do it just because you felt sorry for me, did you?"

"What?" House was so taken aback by this question that he pulled out of the kid without meaning to, and it had Chase gasping. "What on earth makes you think that?"

"I'm sorry. I just had to ask."

House rolled off his Wombat's back and lied down next to him so that he could study his face. Chase still seemed happy and satisfied, but perhaps a bit insecure of himself.

"Robert, I did this because I wanted to." House moved closer and threw an arm around his shoulders. "And because we both needed it. We've been fighting way too much lately. I want us to stick together from now on. That's the truth."

Chase nodded and offered him a smile. "Thanks, Greg. Like I said, it was the best."

The kid snuggled closer and closer until he was lying in the arms of the older man, holding on to him like he was afraid to let him go. He let his head rest on his chest, and House grinned at this; it was nice to feel needed, after all.

"You should rest, Wombat." He whispered after a while when he could tell that Chase was beginning to fall asleep. "You're dead tired, and you know it."

"I'm fine…" Chase muttered, half asleep. He sounded like a child refusing to go to bed even though he couldn't keep his eyes open. "I don't need to sleep right now…"

"Tell you what," House said, caving in, "how about I warm the food we had delivered? We can eat first and then go to bed early if you like."

At least, this was something that Chase could agree to do. "Sounds good to me, baby."

House got out of the bed. He looked down at the Australian who remained perfectly still, perhaps falling asleep already. He decided to pull the covers over him so that he would stay warm.

"I'll be back in ten minutes, pretty-boy," House smirked, "I have some cooking to do and I'm gonna do it naked."

"Mmh…" Chase uttered a small sound, but it was impossible to tell if he had actually heard what House had said or if he was merely talking in his sleep.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House was in the kitchen when things started to take a wrong turn.

"Hey Wombat!" House called out loudly. "Dinner is ready – I think. At least it appears to be smoking hot!" He waited a moment or two, but there was no answer from the bedroom. "Wake up, you slugabed!" He called out again.

What he didn't realise was that Chase had heard everything he said and tried his very hardest to answer him. He simply couldn't. He was lying in bed, half asleep, half awake, but very aware of the fact that he couldn't move. It was like his entire body had failed him – he even had trouble breathing. He could feel something pressing down on his chest and it was nearly choking him. He knew that it couldn't be true, that there couldn't be anyone physically present to press down or even sit on his chest. It had to be imaginary; it was all in his mind but he didn't know how to stop it. He couldn't lift his arms, he couldn't turn his head and he couldn't open up his mouth to call out for House.

All he could do was lie there and wait for it to go away. It was getting dark in the room and he thought that he could see shadows moving right in front of him. He began to feel like he wasn't alone in the room after all…

House waited another minute, but then he lost his patience.

"You said you weren't tired!" He said out loud, leaving the food on the table. "Come on out, you can go back to sleeping when you've had something to eat. I'm pretty sure that you didn't have any meals at all today – am I right?"

House moaned slightly when the silence continued. He turned off the stove and the oven and walked towards the bedroom.

"Don't make me come in there!" He teased Chase before knocking on the door. "If you're not out in ten seconds, I swear to god that I'm gonna drag your cute little ass out of the bed myself!"

Nothing. House opened the door and turned on the lights.

"All right, so I didn't actually count to ten but I just wanted to…" House paused when he saw how Chase was lying motionless on the bed, his eyes opened. "Oh, so you're awake now?" He asked him and moved closer to the bed.

Chase didn't say a single word. He just blinked, slowly. The rest of his body seemed very stiff and he lied perfectly still.

"Robbie? _Robbie,_ can you hear me?" House tried again, but there was no reaction. "What the hell is going on with you?"

He decided that he should try and shake the kid awake, just in case he was sleeping with his eyes open. He sat down on the edge of the bed and touched Chase's shoulder. He shook him a couple of times, but it didn't help. The kid just blinked and kept staring at the ceiling.

"Is this some kind of prank?" House was beginning to sound grumpy, but he couldn't help but to feel frustrated. The kid had never pulled this kind of crap before just because he didn't want to get out of bed. "Robert, you should know that it isn't funny – I told you that I would drag your ass out of bed if I had to, so that's what I'm gonna do."

House grabbed a hold of the Australian's arms and began to pull, and apparently, that did the trick. Chase did not only react; he began to scream and kick and struggle to turn away from the older man.

"No! Let go of me!" He cried out from the top of his lungs. "Let go of me – _please!"_

House was so startled that he let go of him immediately. He almost feared that it was his touch that had made the kid lose his mind, even though it didn't make any sense. But Chase was still screaming and acting delirious and without knowing what was really going on, he kicked House in between his ribs and it was violent enough to push him off the bed with a yelp.

"Robert! What the hell is wrong with you?" House shouted as he landed on the floor and dropped the cane out of his hands. "No one's trying to murder you so stop acting like it!"

Chase finally recognized House's voice and he slowly began to remember where he was and what was going on. He was soaked in sweat and his heart was pounding. Then he remembered the feeling of not being able to move or breathe and he instantly sat up in the bed as he wanted to make sure that it was over now.

"Greg," he panted and tried his hardest to calm down, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that – I just panicked because I couldn't move. It felt like my entire body… Like my entire body was paralysed."


	8. Panic

The two of them were eating together in the kitchen and the silence made everything seem awkward. House was keeping his eyes at his plate, hardly focusing on anything else and Chase feared that he had upset him. He noticed how the older man held a hand over his ribs; he was probably feeling sore and it was all Chase's fault.

"Does it hurt?" He finally asked him, and House looked up as though he hadn't expected any sort of conversation at the table.

"What?" He asked, still chewing on his food. "My ribs or my ass? I've fallen on it twice today, as you might recall."

He didn't sound grumpy as such, but perhaps tired.

"I'm sorry." Chase told him, already having lost all interest in the food in front of him. "You know I didn't mean to kick you. I was just…"

"Scared," House sighed, "yeah I know. But of what, I have no idea."

"It was just another bad dream that didn't mean anything." Chase leaned back in his chair. "It had nothing to do with you."

"Right." House used his napkin to wipe his mouth. "Now, _that_ would have been a problem. We can't have you walking around, fearing the mean old man you're living with, can we?"

House got up and carried his own dinner plate to the sink. As he limped past Chase, he made a dramatic hand gesture and exclaimed a loud _'boo!'_

Chase frowned at this. "I'm telling you, it had nothing to do with you. I wasn't awake when you shook me so I couldn't tell the difference between dream and reality."

"You know, whenever I let out a load of bullshit like that, at least I remember to wipe my mouth afterwards…" House washed off his plate lazily and left it in the sink. "You know it wasn't just a dream. You were paralysed for God sakes! Since when does that happen during a simple nightmare?"

Chase shrugged. "Maybe I was only dreaming that I was paralysed. Maybe it was just part of the nightmare."

House opened the fridge and took out a cold beer. "You're eyes were open the whole time, Robert. I saw you. You weren't even sleeping at the time. It is more likely that you were hallucinating."

House gestured that Chase should finish his meal, but the kid just shook his head. He felt too sick to eat right now. So instead, he followed House into the living room as they both needed to sit down somewhere more comfortable.

Chase thought about it for a moment, then said: "So what could have caused me to hallucinate and turn paralysed whilst being awake? Do you think I might have a neurological problem?"

House snorted at the idea. "Yeah right. Try psychological, Wombat. Do you think it's a coincidence that you're experiencing all this shit right after you saw your patient killing herself?"

"_Our_ patient." Chase corrected him solemnly.

"Whatever – you found her, not me. I'm just saying that maybe it traumatised you more than you realize." House took a sip of his beer and threw his arm around the kid's shoulders. "So tell me, what were the hallucinations about? What happened when you couldn't move? Were you able to see?"

Chase let House pull him closer, but he honestly didn't feel like talking about it. He was scared to relive it.

"There's not much to tell," he looked down at his own hands, "I could see, but it was mainly things that weren't real. Things that weren't there."

House looked at him sceptically. "Like what? Don't tell me you were visited by your patient's dead spirit?"

Chase huffed. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not that crazy – not yet, anyway."

"Sorry." House bit his lip and promised himself that he wouldn't joke about this. "So tell me what it was, baby."

"It's not that easy to describe." Chase tried his hardest to come up with an explanation. "I couldn't turn my head and look around in the room, but I had this feeling that I wasn't alone in there. I could see shadows moving and I also thought that I heard voices. And then I felt something pressing down on my chest so that I couldn't breathe." Chase paused and looked at House to check his reaction. "Look, I know that it was all imaginary, but it felt very real and that's why I panicked. When you tried to shake me awake, I couldn't be sure that it was you."

"Well, who else did you think it could be?" House asked him seriously.

"I don't know." Chase shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's over now, so let's just forget it."

For once, House nodded compliantly and accepted this. "All right, if that's what you want. I'm sure that it was just a one-time experience anyway. You shouldn't be worried anymore."

Chase faked a small smile. "I'm not. Thank you."

House finished his beer and padded the kid's shoulder lightly. "Great then – let's go back to bed. I'm sure that you're even more sleep-deprived now."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House had fallen asleep after five minutes. Chase, however, was still wide awake after two hours. He knew that he needed to sleep – in fact, he had never needed it this badly before – but it was no use. He couldn't stop thinking about the nightmare that he had had – or the paralysis.

He didn't want it to happen again. It was too awful…

So instead he forced himself to keep his eyes open. He forced himself to stay awake and just suffer through it. No matter how exhausted he'd feel in the morning.

"_I don't need to sleep that badly. Not really,"_ he kept telling himself, _"besides, I will probably regret it if I do."_

He was lying in House's arms, but he eventually grew tired of the silence and the darkness in the room. He knew that he needed to move – otherwise he was going to lose his mind. He carefully managed to untangle himself from his boyfriend's arms without waking him up, and he quietly kissed his cheek before tip-toeing his way out of the room. In the living room, he decided to turn on all the lights – it felt so much better this way.

"_I'm gonna go for a run,"_ he thought to himself, _"my body could really use the extra energy."_

In all honesty, he was also feeling desperate to just escape the apartment and move around a little bit. He was desperate to have it confirmed that he wasn't paralysed or numb anymore, and that his body was still functioning like it used to.

The minute he walked out of the front door, though, House awoke and noticed that the other half of the bed was empty. Chase was gone. God damn it. He should have known that this would happen.

He should have known that the Wombat would panic.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

The next morning, House walked into the kitchen finding that Chase had the breakfast ready and served, just waiting for him. Even now, the kid was apparently keeping himself busy by doing the dishes from yesterday.

"Good morning." Chase said, looking over his shoulder for a brief second to offer House a smile. House immediately noticed the restless expression and the tired, red eyes.

"Good morning." He said as he sat down to eat. "Did you wake up early or something?"

"Yeah I guess." Chase shrugged, now facing away from the older man. "So I decided to make myself useful."

"Oh."

House wondered if he should say something to let the kid know that he was on to him. That he knew for a fact that he hadn't just woken up early, but that he probably hadn't been asleep at all. But then again, why say something that might upset him?

"Well thank you," he said in the end, "the pancakes are good. Considering they're Australian made, of course."

Chase would normally snigger at House's taunting, but this time there was no response. House figured that he was simply too tired to comprehend the joke. Too tired to react.

"Well, I'm off to the hospital." House said as he finished his meal. "Why don't you leave the dishes alone for now and go rest instead?"

"Right," Chase replied wryly, "because now that I'm under suspension from the hospital, I have nothing better to do."

"Yeah, well, there's that." House admitted and got up from his seat. "But don't be so pissy about it. Consider it an inconvenient vacation or something."

"Inconvenient indeed…" Chase muttered quietly.

"Hey, I'm serious. You should get some more rest, Wombat." House walked up behind him and kissed his neck. "Can you do that for me?"

"I'm really not that tired, Greg." Chase tried to assure him. "It's okay, I think I'll get some things done in the apartment to kill time."

"Oh how ambitious you are all of a sudden! If only you could show the same enthusiasm when you're working for me." House joked.

Chase turned around to meet his gaze. "Shouldn't you be getting ready to go to work, baby? You don't want Cuddy to have her knife into you because you're late. Not today."

"Huh – what a nice British expression." House smirked. "Well, if you insist. But try not to miss me too much while I'm away, all right?"

This finally had the Australian smiling. "Sure. I'll do my best."

House decided to ignore the pale skin and the empty glare in the kid's eyes which suggested that he was drained of all his energy. Sure, he was worried to see him in this condition, but perhaps not surprised. He leaned in and kissed his soft, slightly pink lips with a smack.

"It's gonna be fine. I promise." House said as he stroked his cheek gingerly. "Just give it a few days, kiddo."

Chase nodded and tried his best to smile. He failed miserably. House knew his smile by heart and cherished it, too, so he could always tell when it wasn't the real deal.

"_So that's what two sleepless nights does to you."_ He thought to himself as he walked out the door. _"I hope it doesn't get any worse than this."_

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Wilson almost couldn't believe his own eyes when House walked in his office at 8 o'clock.

"House! What the heck are you doing here so early?" He blurted out. "You're usually a few hours late, aren't you?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's great to see you too!" House greeted him whilst grimacing. He immediately sat down in front of the desk instead of waiting for an invitation.

"It's not that I don't enjoy putting my work aside for you," Wilson added, "I just thought that you might be busy dealing with other issues this morning."

"Oh how subtle and discrete you are, doctor Wilson!" House smirked tauntingly. "Surely, "other issues" could refer to a bunch of things…"

"Fine," Wilson corrected himself, "in order to save us both some time, let me put it this way. I heard about your patient who killed herself. I'm sorry. I think a hearing sounds pretty unnecessary. How on earth were you supposed to know that she would do that, anyway?"

"Well, that's the thing," House sighed and placed his cane so that it was leaning up against Wilson's desk, "apparently the stupid, crazy lady had swallowed a sewing needle before admitting herself. Hence the stomach aches. And now they all want to know why we didn't find the needle in time."

"Oh." Wilson fell silent for a moment. "That's just awful. That woman must have been in a very dark place. How many people do actually commit suicide by slicing their own throats? I mean, she must have been very desperate."

"Or just extremely foolish." House added indifferently. "And she obviously didn't mind leaving her only son behind to be orphaned, either."

"So you're saying you don't feel sorry for her at all?" Wilson squinted his eyes slightly. "Are you saying that you can't relate to her situation in any way? You of all people, House?"

"Oh please, what are you implying?" House rolled his eyes.

"You're the most miserable person I've ever met," Wilson told him straightforwardly, without even joking, "you've seen darker days than anyone else around here. You're addiction to Vicodin alone makes one wonder from time to time if you're actually on some kind of suicide mission."

"Yeah well, that's very observant and dramatic of you to say." House pulled a face and crossed his arms. "But things are different now. My days are not so dark anymore."

"Right. I guess that opens up a whole new can of worms." Wilson smiled. "I assume that Chase has something to do with you being happy for a change. You know, we haven't really talked about him yet…"

"That's because we haven't seen each other since he… since you…" House couldn't make himself say it and he felt frustrated.

"Oh please, you're not still upset about me walking in on the two of you, are you? House, there is nothing to be ashamed of…"

"I'm not ashamed." House interrupted him with a shrug. "I just wish you hadn't found out about us that way, is all."

"You know, I think you're giving him a very hard time for no good reason." Wilson sighed and looked concerned. "Cuddy told me that you yelled at him in her office. In front of everyone."

"True." House admitted. "But at least I've made it up to him for that. There's nothing that says "I'm sorry" like a good, hard shag."

House smiled mischievously and Wilson looked very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Right, thanks for letting me know that…" The oncologist muttered embarrassedly.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to talk about my relationship to him." House reminded him gladly. "So let's talk. He's a hot piece of ass, wouldn't you agree? And he's really good in bed, too. He allows me to do practically anything – sometimes he just lies down and then he takes it for hours…"

"Well, I'm glad that you're no longer too shy to talk about your relationship," Wilson supressed another sigh, "but be careful, too, House. I think the kid is sensitive these days. I'm glad that he's making you happy, but you can't keep yelling at him and blaming him for all sorts of things whenever you're having a rough day."

"Good point." House grinned. "That's what I have you for, right?"

"I'm serious, House. Don't push him away. He thought that you were ashamed of being seen with him, remember? You should prove him wrong."

"Relax, Jimmy. I know that it's been a dramatic couple of days, but everything is fine. We've made up and the kid is doing just great. He has already forgotten about all the things I said to him in Cuddy's office."

"All the things you said to him? Like when you blamed him for your patient's death in front of all his bosses?" Wilson pulled a rather sad face. "No House, I'm afraid that's something you can't just forget about that easily. It takes more than just a "good, hard shag," as you put it. A _lot_ more."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

As soon as House showed his face inside the diagnostics room, Foreman and Cameron stopped whatever conversation they were having and looked to him as though something was about to happen.

"House," Cameron said and closed her laptop, "you're early."

"Yeah well, nothing gets you out of bed in the morning like a lawsuit!"

House couldn't be bothered to look at the whiteboard or check out the papers that had been left on the table, but walked straight into his office instead. All he wanted to do was sit in his chair and not be bothered by patients.

Foreman and Cameron followed him into the office, of course.

"For what it's worth, I don't think this case will be taken to court." Foreman told him as an encouragement. "So far, it's just a hearing. A really pointless one, if you ask me. I mean, there's no one to blame for Mrs. Hamilton's death, is there?"

"Of course there isn't." Cameron interfered immediately, sounding outraged as if Foreman had actually suggested the opposite.

"Well, there's actually _one_ person to blame," House frowned tiredly, "but for some outrageous reason, the board has decided to blame the suicide on anyone else _but_ the crazy lady herself, making her an 'innocent victim' of her own stupid crime."

Cameron was looking rather uncomfortable, and House could tell that she was fighting off the urge to tell him not to speak ill of the dead. Like he would have cared, anyway.

"Well, they can't pin this on someone who isn't around to take the blame, can they?" Foreman tried to rationalize everything – as always. "I'm sure that the board isn't out to punish either you or Chase. They just want to figure out what happened."

"But they have already made unfair punishments," Cameron objected, sounding almost pissy, "why would they give Chase a week's suspension if they didn't blame him for what happened? Do you really think that can be justified?"

"Hey, I'm not saying that Chase deserves the suspension." Foreman elaborated. "I'm just saying that they probably don't mean anything by it. And I don't think that House has anything to fear, either."

"You never know when it comes to the board. If they hold a grudge against you, they will always be looking for an excuse to question you as a doctor." Cameron argued sceptically.

House couldn't be bothered to listen to the rest of the discussion. He was thinking about something completely different. In the end, his two team members ran out of words and they both looked to him as to ask for his opinion on the subject.

"Well, what are you staring at me for?" House blurted out irritably. "Why does everyone assume that I give a crap if Chase loses his job or not? I really couldn't care less!"

And when both Foreman and Cameron gave him a funny look, House wondered if they had even been talking about Chase all this time.

Damn it. He couldn't afford to get distracted.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

It was in the middle of the afternoon when House decided to call his Wombat's cell phone. He just wanted to check up on him – casually, of course. He couldn't help but to wonder how he was holding up. He prayed to God that he had fallen asleep peacefully. That he had stopped tormenting himself.

He let the phone ring, but there was no answer. He tried again and again a couple of times. Nothing happened. There was no reaction whatsoever.

Hopefully, this meant that the kid had finally submitted to his exhaustion and let himself fall asleep.

But what if it didn't?

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Chase basically collapsed on the couch around noon. He had worn himself out to an extent that he had never seen before; he could feel his heart pounding dangerously fast without him having done anything in particular, he could feel his hands and knees shaking, and his entire body felt heavy. He had never been in such a restless state before and it scared him a little bit. He knew that he needed to put an end to it. He knew that it wasn't healthy…

He'd been doing all sorts of things all day to keep himself distracted – and importantly, awake. He'd cleaned the entire apartment, he'd done some grocery shopping, he'd showered, he'd paid some bills – including some of House's – and he'd helped House answering some of his e-mails from potential patients from all over the States, like he sometimes would. Only this time, House hadn't asked him to do it. He had volunteered, and it made him feel like Cameron.

But now he couldn't go on like this anymore. He knew that he was only doing all this because he wanted to escape the guilt that he was feeling. And because he didn't want to think about what had happened during his last shift at the hospital.

He didn't want to think about Laura Hamilton's dead body, covered in blood. He didn't want to think about the poor kid she was leaving behind. He didn't want to think about his own mother and what she had looked like when he had found her…

"_I'm incapable of saving someone,"_ he thought to himself as his body gave up, _"maybe they really should fire me…"_

He fell asleep just seconds after lying down on the couch. His body turned heavy right away and he couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. He didn't care anymore. It was so tempting to just close his eyes and doze off. It felt so relieving…

And he actually managed to sleep for three hours or so – until the sound of a ringing phone brought him back to reality. Or at least, half the way back.

Chase rolled on to his back as he wanted to sit up and look for his phone. But just as he switched to his back, he thought that the sound of the phone was dying out slowly and he realised that he might not be fully awake yet. Just as he realised this, it was as though a shock went through his body. A shock that left his body stiff and once again, he was unable to move.

He instantly wanted to scream and shout for help even, but of course, no one was around to hear him anyway. Even if there _had_ been someone, it wouldn't have mattered. He couldn't open his mouth and he couldn't utter a sound. He recognised the feeling of his body being locked as if out of order; both his arms had turned limp and one of them had dropped down from the edge of the couch so that his fingertips were almost touching the floor.

But he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel a thing. How could this be happening again? How could he have been paralysed so easily?

Chase could feel his heart beating faster and faster and he felt rather vulnerable. He was grateful for the daylight and for the lights that he had left on this morning. If this had been another dark room, he wouldn't have been able to handle it.

He tried frantically to move his fingers, or his feet, or his head, but nothing happened. It was starting to seem like an outer-body experience; he felt like he was floating upwards – away from the body that had been trapped on House's couch. It felt like he was floating away from himself, and this was just another way of losing control…

And then the voices began. At first, he could only hear small sounds that he couldn't quite name or place. It sounded like footsteps, perhaps coming from the hall.

Then the footsteps turned louder and it sounded like they were getting closer – like there was someone approaching him by entering the living room. That was when his heart began to beat even faster.

The footsteps were slowly walking towards the couch. Like a hunter approaching his prey bit by bit because he knew that it had no chance of escaping him. Chase blinked and thought to himself that he must be mad, but then he heard it again: The footsteps had stopped right behind the back of the couch – where Chase wouldn't be able to look. And whatever it was, it simply remained there right behind him, probably watching him, too.

Chase gulped and closed his eyes. If something appeared above his head, if someone was actually coming for him, he didn't want to see it. It was enough that he could hear it.

"_I'm a doctor. I'm a rational person and I believe in science."_ He told himself forcefully. _"This must be another hallucination. It has to be…"_

Chase hoped that it would all go away if he just kept his eyes closed and took a few deep breaths. But then he heard an even worse sound that could easily have turned his blood to ice… A laughter.

The _thing_ that had snuck up upon him and was hiding behind the couch, was even laughing at him, too. The voice sounded twisted and unrecognisable – almost unhuman. It sounded evil.

He then heard the words being whispered close to his ear:

"_I'm right here, Robert… I'm always here."_

Chase struggled even harder to scream and to move, but when nothing happened, he made the biggest mistake that he could have possibly made. He opened his eyes. And as he looked up at the ceiling again, he saw something from the corner of his eye. He saw something or someone walking by, across the living room – something tall and dark. Something that had been hiding in this room in order to watch him. What the hell…

His chest began to ache like the first time; he could hardly breathe and he had to try and gasp for air. It felt like something was crushing him, weighing him down – choking him. And he couldn't fight it off. He couldn't protect himself. He couldn't…

Chase let out a big cry as he finally managed to turn his head to the side; within the next second he was also able to move his legs and his arms. He began to kick and squirm as to fight off a big monster that had been attacking him. He fought with all his might, and as a result, his entire body dropped from the couch all at once, and he landed hard on his back, banging his head against the wooden floor.

He heard a small crack. And along with that came the pain. Just as he had fought off the paralysis, he felt it all coming back to him again. His body felt heavy and his head was spinning; this time, he couldn't move because he was about to black out.

But at least the voices had stopped laughing at him when he lost consciousness.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

"Robbie! Hey, Robbie!" House called out his name as he knelt down on one knee next to his Wombat. "What on earth happened to you?"

He grabbed a hold of Chase's arm and he shook it lightly. How had the kid ended up on the floor? He wasn't sleeping, it seemed – he was much too pale and his body too still for that. And this couldn't be another paralysis, since his eyes were closed this time. He had obviously blacked out, but why? Was it due to exhaustion?

"Robbie, can you hear me?" House spoke firmly. "You've collapsed on the floor, I need you to open your eyes for me so that I can make sure that you're okay."

The younger man stirred, but House couldn't tell if he had heard him or not. He was probably gaining consciousness again, slowly. He decided to sit down properly so that he could pull the Wombat into his arms and help him hold his head up so that he wouldn't wake up to find himself lying in between the couch and the table.

House had just pulled the kid's head to his chest when he made the first sound and opened his eyes carefully.

"Greg?" He moaned hoarsely. "What happened? How did I get here?"

"I don't know," House told him straight, "I was hoping you could tell me. I just walked in and found you on the floor."

"You did?" Chase frowned and groaned as a sharp pain went through his head. He then remembered falling from the couch and he felt pathetic for it. How the hell could he black out from that?

"Yeah, I did. And I think I have a theory how all this happened." House sighed knowingly. "Actually, I have two. One – you either forced yourself to stay awake for so long that you practically collapsed when you couldn't hold it up anymore. Or two, you actually did fall asleep, but you had another bad dream or hallucination, and it scared you so much that you managed to hurt yourself somehow. So tell me, baby, which one was it?"

Chase knew that there was no point in trying to hide it from House anymore. He sighed as he surrendered: "The second one."

"Hmm." House nodded.

"I got paralysed again." Chase added in a tired voice. "And I panicked because I thought I heard voices."

"I see." House closed his eyes for a brief second to think. "So that's why you never answered your phone, huh? Bad Wombat!"

"You were the one who called me?" Chase looked up at him, even though his head was throbbing sore.

"Of course I was," House told him, "and I decided to leave the hospital right away when you didn't pick up. I was worried, you know."

Chase almost didn't know what to say. He wrapped his arms around House's shoulders and leaned against him in order to tighten the hug. "Thank you," he whispered, "I don't know what I would do without you. Please stay with me for the rest of tonight, Greg. I don't – I don't want to be alone."

House bit his lip. This was exactly the kind of thing that he had been so bad at in the past; people who clung to him. People who acted needy or overly-detached. He wasn't used to being needed this much.

But of course, he would be foolish to ignore all the things he had recently realized about himself and his feelings for the Australian. Of course he had to be there. And surely, it was something he wanted to do as well.

He said: "Of course I'll stay, silly-head. You have nothing to worry about. Now, I can tell from your grimaces that you're in pain. So why don't you let me take a look at your head?"

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

The next couple of days went by in a rather similar manner. House went to work at the hospital even though he didn't really want to. Chase promised him that he was okay and that he didn't mind being alone during the day. He was still having trouble sleeping and he would wake up every night after only a few hours of sleep, kicking and screaming and soaked in sweat. The delusions and the voices wouldn't go away, and neither would the paralysis.

The paralysis made him feel like he was losing his grip. It made him feel powerless and out of control. He feared that he was turning into a person that he didn't quite understand or recognize. And yet, what he feared even more was to _actually_ identify himself with that scared, helpless person who was lying next to House in bed every night, unable to move or scream or cry.

Or worst of all; if House would come to grow tired of him for being so pathetic and weak. If he would stop loving him if he discovered just how damaged his was…

And just as Chase thought he couldn't be more worried than he was, the day of the hearing was approaching.


	9. Consequences

On the day of the hearing, House and Chase made sure to arrive at the hospital separately. And for that reason, they barely got to see each other again before they were sitting side by side in front of the board.

An hour before the hearing started, Chase stopped by the diagnostics room in order to collect Laura Hamilton's file; the one he had originally been given. When he entered the door, he found that both Foreman and Cameron were present.

Cameron looked up as soon as she saw him. "Good morning." She said calmly. Chase could tell that she began to study him thoroughly; she probably wanted to see just how nervous he was.

"Good morning." Chase muttered, not wanting to reveal his true feelings. She was still looking at him, almost stubbornly, and he wanted to hide his own face away.

"So the hearing starts soon," she remarked cleverly, "how are you feeling?"

Chase sat down at the table; he had hoped that he could read through the file quietly. He wished to God that Cameron could have kept her questions to herself and ignored him, just like Foreman did.

"I'm fine." Chase told her simply. "I just need a moment to prepare myself…"

"You don't look fine to me," Cameron cut him off; she removed her glasses as if to let him know that the conversation was about to get serious, "you look like you haven't slept at all. Have you?"

Chase wanted to sigh loudly, but he knew that he needed to save all his energy for later. Arguing with Cameron was the last thing he needed right now.

"Yeah, I've slept just fine, thank you." He said, looking away from her.

Of course she could see right through him. It wasn't difficult to tell that he was lying; he knew that he looked pale and exhausted and that his eyes were slightly red – again. It had taken him forever to fall asleep the night before and he had woken up at least ten times – one of the times because of another nightmare. The paralysis and the hallucinations were becoming more intense – more life-like.

"I don't think that's true." Cameron challenged him; she was doing her annoying thing again. "I think you look more nervous than I've ever seen you before. Don't you want to talk about it?"

"Oh come on, Cameron, leave him alone," Foreman had his back turned on them as he was busy making himself a cup of coffee, "he doesn't need you in his hair right now. The board is already making a big deal out of this situation, so you shouldn't add fuel to the fire, too."

"Hey, I'm not trying to make things worse!" Cameron exclaimed. "I just wanted to help Chase calm down before the hearing starts. I bet that the board won't take kindly to any kind of nervousness. They will probably make it look like guilt instead…"

"Thanks, Cameron, I don't need you to remind me of that." Chase held a hand over his eyes for a brief moment. His head still hurt from the fall he had taken a few days ago.

"Yeah," Foreman added, "that's all very considerate of you, Cameron, but we all know that the only reason why you care about this hearing so much, is because you worry if they will find a way to punish House."

"That's not true," Cameron sulked and put on her glasses again, "I care about what happens to both House and Chase. But what will happen to us if they suspend House or something? Would we get fired?"

"Please, that's never gonna happen!" Foreman returned to the table with the cup of coffee in his hands. "I think you're making too big a deal out of this. Why would anyone get fired? The woman killed herself, so there's no one to blame."

"If that was true, then why did the board suspend Chase?" Cameron wouldn't let it go. She continued: "Why would there even be a hearing if they weren't looking for someone to blame?"

"Once again, thank you for trying to calm me down." Chase looked at Cameron with pure annoyance in his eyes. "Can we please forget the hearing for a moment and talk about something else?"

"Chase, you know I'm not trying to make things worse," Cameron leaned in across the table, "I'm just saying that they will look for someone to blame, and if you go in there looking nervous like you do right now, they will think that it's because you feel guilty. And then they might try to blame both you and House."

"Well, when you put it like that, it makes me feel so much better!" Chase muttered sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "Can we please let it go for now?"

"Wait," Foreman turned to look at him and perhaps, he finally noticed the tired eyes, "Chase, you're not telling me that you actually feel worried about this?"

"I don't know." Chase shrugged. "Maybe. I've never tried this before."

"But there is _nothing_ to worry about," Foreman practically chuckled, "you didn't kill her, did you? No, she did that to herself and you only tried to save her life after she cut her throat. No way that the board can pin this on you, man."

"But…" Chase felt childish for not being able to let go of his fear. "We never found the needle in her stomach. The board will probably consider that a screw-up."

Foreman shrugged. "It wasn't your screw-up more than it was mine – or Cameron's. Trust me on this, neither you or House will get punished for what happened. It was a suicide. There is no one to blame."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

"So – you're looking surprisingly well-rested this morning." Wilson noted as he got into the elevator with his friend.

"And you're looking surprisingly – well, I can't actually think of a clever comeback, because there's never anything surprising about you!" House punched the button for the third floor with his cane. "But thanks, it simply _tickles_ when you compliment me like that!"

"I wasn't trying to compliment you, House." Wilson stuck both hands down his coat pockets. "I was simply making an observation. I find it very peculiar that you look so well-rested this morning while Chase looks absolutely horrible."

"Oh yeah?" House said and looked at him. "And how would you know that, you little stalker?"

"I saw him earlier in the reception." Wilson told him. "It looks like he hasn't slept all week."

"That's because he barely has." House muttered.

"So the nightmares are getting worse, I assume?"

House had told Wilson all about the kid's _episodes_, as he liked to call them. He had told him about the kicking and the screaming, which of course explained his still aching ribs, he had told him about the nightmares, the hallucinations and the paralysis. Not because he wanted Wilson to know that he was worried, but simply because he didn't know how to deal with this all by himself. He wanted to help Chase and make him feel better, but he had no idea how to do that.

Wilson was right to ask if the nightmares were getting worse – because they were for sure. But House felt a bit sad to admit it. He wished that the story was different – that he could tell his friend that the Wombat was safe and happy around him.

"Oh no, forget about the nightmares!" House rolled his eyes. "The kid is up all night because he gets high-on-sugar excited every time he thinks about the hearing."

Wilson nodded, ignoring the usual sarcasm. "And of course, the hearing is something you have barely thought about yourself?"

House shrugged. "Well, it's all stupid. I can't be bothered wasting my time with it…"

"So you're not worried about the outcome at all?" Wilson tested him. "You don't think there will be consequences for either one of you?"

"Why would there be?" House looked at him one more time. "We did nothing wrong. Cuddy is just eager to teach me a lesson and remind me what she's capable of."

"Ah, so this is all a demonstration of power?" Wilson shook his head, smirking disbelievingly. "If she only wants to teach you a lesson, House, then why would she bring Chase into this and even punish him with a suspension? Why didn't she suspend you instead?"

House smiled as the elevator stopped at the third floor and the doors opened. "Well, you see, Jimmy, she loves me too much to suspend me. A woman like Cuddy would get bored around here without a handsome male to whack her with his cane every now and then."

Wilson sighed as they walked down the hall together. "Fine, I didn't expect you to take it seriously anyway," he told House eventually, "but I can tell that Chase does."

"So? What's your point?" House quizzed him slightly indifferently.

"So I hope that you can at least take his fear seriously." Wilson paused when a couple of nurses walked past them. "Whatever happens today, I really hope that you're there for him. I bet he needs it more than you know."

House stopped as they reached the diagnostics room. "I am there for him at home." He told Wilson quietly. "But here at the hospital, the kid is on his own. It's the way it has to be and you know it."

Wilson disappeared around the corner and House walked in the glass door, already expecting to find the team gathered.

"Oh what a beautiful morning to get sued!" He exclaimed as he made his entrance, and he immediately had Foreman, Cameron and Chase staring at him. "Foreman, you lucky devil, you get to do my clinic hours today, Cameron, you get to make my coffee, and Chase – _you_ get to escort me to Cuddy's office in about fifteen minutes."

"I'm not doing your clinic hours again!" Foreman cried out immediately. "You're called in for a hearing, that doesn't mean you get the entire day off."

"And I'm not making you coffee again," Cameron pouted, "last time you said you hated it."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Thank you for reminding me." House acted as though he had just dodged a bullet, much to Cameron's displeasure. "Chase, you make my coffee then! And if you love your job so much, you might want to make Cuddy and her lawyers a cup as well!"

He watched as the Wombat got up from his seat and headed for the coffee maker without a word. Damn. He still looked more dead than alive. He wasn't ready to fight for himself at all, House realised quietly.

"No one is getting fired today, so stop acting like it." Foreman told House and in the meantime, Cameron looked towards Chase, wondering why he didn't say anything himself.

"Oh, Foreman, you take the fun out of everything!" House complained. "Can't we just pretend for one second that this hearing actually means something?"

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

It was 10 o'clock when everyone was seated around the table, House and Chase included. Cuddy was sitting across the table, looking anything but amused. House had made a joke about her low cut shirt in front of the board and it had really tensed the situation.

"Doctor House, if you would please take the situation seriously…" Cuddy sighed tiredly.

"Oh, so you're saying that your boobs are not a serious business?" House pulled a face. "I'm sorry, I really thought they were."

Cuddy frowned and Chase looked down in the table as he felt uncomfortable. House's jokes never embarrassed him as such, but right now he just wished that he would stop. There was nothing to joke about, absolutely nothing.

"Obviously, we are not here to talk about my boobs, House." Cuddy hissed irritably, hoping that the entire board hadn't heard it.

"Then why the low cut?" House tested her. He seemed incredibly eager to let everybody know that he didn't give a damn.

This time, a member of the board dressed in a dark suit coughed in order to clear his throat and attract everyone's attention. "Doctor House, may I remind you that a patient has died under your care." He said gravely. "I think the time for joking is over."

And certainly, it was.

Chase wanted to gulp as the room grew silent and all eyes were on him and House. He only realised then that, perhaps, House had been making those inappropriate jokes in order to ease the tension and help him relax a little bit. If only it had worked.

"You're making it sound like the patient died because of something _we_ did to her." House remarked grumpily. "It was a suicide. She chose to die and there was nothing that anyone could have done."

Another voice interfered. It was the man sitting next to Cuddy. "Doctor House, allow me to ask you something. Did you ever go into your patient's room to check on her just once? You never met her in person, did you? Do you even remember her name?"

Chase noticed how House looked away for a moment. He obviously didn't want to answer that.

"Her name was Laura Hamilton," Chase decided to answer for him, "she was forty-eight years old and she had spent the last ten years living in New Jersey with her son, Billy. Quit making it sound like we didn't know or care for our patient, because we did."

Cuddy now looked to Chase as though she approved of what he had said. "Right." She said. "Doctor Miller, please remember that we agreed not to make this personal."

The man sitting next to Cuddy immediately kept his mouth shut.

"Doctor Chase, since you were the last of her doctors to see her alive, why don't you tell us all exactly what happened that night?" Cuddy spoke in a calm, but firm voice. "We all know that she used your scalpel to injure herself fatally, but perhaps we should hear about the incident from your perspective."

Chase nodded. He had been prepared to hear that question, but he still didn't like the focus that was on him.

"I was watching over Laura the night she died," he told them as calmly as he could, "she had been complaining about the stomach aches that she was experiencing, and as you can see, I made a notation in her file to describe the severity of her pain…"

House watched the younger man as he told the board about the incident and how he found out that his patient had killed herself. He was proud to see that Chase was looking more confident now, although he still seemed awfully tired. He knew that the kid was probably too traumatised to be under this kind of pressure, but there was nothing he could do to make it stop.

As Chase had told the board his side of the story, House noticed the expression on Cuddy's face; it was obvious that she didn't blame him for any of it but of course, she had to stay objective. Cuddy alone couldn't get his name cleared.

"That's all very good, doctor Chase," one of the female members of the board said and she sounded unimpressed, "but you forgot to explain one thing to us. It says here in the file that you were taken off the case to begin with. Why was that?"

Oh crap. House should have known that they would bring up that small detail.

"I…" Apparently, Chase hadn't seen that question coming either. "It had to do with the scan I took of the patient's leg. I accidentally scanned the same leg twice."

"You scanned the same leg twice?" The woman repeated sceptically. "How on earth did that happen? Is that what you call taking a case seriously?"

"It was a small, insignificant mistake," House butted in, "the problem was never in her leg, as we all know now. Doctors mess up the simplest tests sometimes. It happens."

"And yet you got angry enough to put doctor Chase off the case." The man next to Cuddy remarked. "Isn't that right, doctor House? You took him off the case for making exactly that mistake."

House shrugged. "I just wanted to teach him a lesson. He's Australian after all and his daddy was rich. I wanted him to face the consequences of failing the test, but only for a day or two. So I put him back on the case as soon as I cooled off."

"So you didn't think that doctor Chase was unfit for the task of looking after your patient?" Another member of the board asked House. "You trusted him enough to be alone with the patient even though he failed to do a simple test?"

"Like I said, it was an insignificant test." House sighed. "And yes, I trusted him completely and I still do. I wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't good."

Chase looked down at his own hands. He was grateful that House defended him like this, but at the same time he had a bad feeling. He felt like the hearing had taken a wrong turn.

"So, doctor Chase, why did you fail to do a proper scan of the patient's leg?" The man next to Cuddy wanted to know. "It seems to me that a doctor should notice when he has scanned the same leg twice. Perhaps you were distracted by something?"

Chase bit his lip. This was bad. The truth was that he had only pretended to screw up the test so that he and House had an excuse to fight in front of Foreman and Cameron. But he just couldn't tell the board that part of the story.

"No. I wasn't distracted." He said, sounding less confident now. "I don't know why it happened. It just did. But after that, I made sure to pay attention to every little detail in the patient's file…"

"Right," the woman from before cut him off, "better late than never, huh?"

Chase didn't know what to say. He was very much taken aback by all these questions. The board wasn't trying to pin Laura's death on his mistake – were they?

"Enough about that scan," House blurted out angrily, "it didn't mean anything. It had no consequences for the patient whatsoever."

"But you still failed the patient in another aspect," a doctor from cardiology pointed out, "you never found the source of her stomach aches. So tell me, if you weren't distracted then how could you miss finding the needle in her stomach?"

"May I remind you that the patient killed herself?" House sighed tiredly – he had had enough of all these stupid questions. "Even if we had found the needle right away, she was still going to kill herself. This woman obviously did all these things to torture herself – how were we supposed to diagnose a suicide instead of an actual illness?"

"Doctor House," Cuddy said firmly and looked him in the eyes, "it seems to me that you should show some respect to the woman who died under your watch. Don't you sympathise with her at all?"

"Are you asking me if I sympathise with people who kill themselves?" House raised his eyebrows. "No, I don't."

Just as Chase thought that the hearing couldn't go any worse, there was a knocking on the door and everyone paused instantly.

"Come in." Cuddy spoke loudly whilst sounding annoyed. "And make it quick – we're in the middle of something!"

It was doctor Andrew who appeared in the doorway. Doctor Andrew whose office Chase and House had used to make out in when they were discovered by Wilson. "Yeah I know," Andrew said gravely as he entered the room, "but I have something to show you all and I think you might be very interested."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

"God damn it! I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch!" House yelled out loud as he punched the wall outside of Cuddy's office.

"House, please…" Chase grabbed his arm and tried to make him calm down. "They might hear you in there."

"I don't care if they hear me!" House exclaimed dramatically. "I'm not only going to end that bastard's career, I'll end his life, too!"

Chase knew that House had good reason to be upset, but he also knew that he was only making the situation worse by reacting like this. If the board had heard his threats against doctor Andrew, they would only use it against him.

Doctor Andrew had told the board that he needed to show them something – something that was relevant to the case against House and Chase. They had both known that this couldn't be good, especially because doctor Andrew was known to be a prick and a backstabber. But he was still let inside the room by Cuddy.

"I'm going to show you all something that I've managed to capture on camera," he had told them, "it's something that has been taped in my office while I was away. You see, I've recently discovered that the lock to my office doesn't work, so instead I've had a security camera installed so that I can stop people from sneaking into my office."

"I'm sorry, doctor Andrew, but what does this have to do with the Laura Hamilton case?" Cuddy had asked him.

"Probably a lot," Andrew had told her straight, "because it has something to do with the two doctors who were on the case."

And then the son of a bitch had put on the tape. A tape that showed what his security camera had captured. House and Chase were both mortified to realise that the tape showed the two of them inside his office, kissing and groping each other. There were images of House pressing Chase up against Andrew's desk, unbuttoning his employee's shirt whilst deepening the kiss – and the entire board, including Cuddy, were witnessing it because of that mean bastard.

"I want you all to know that doctor House is a pervert who takes advantage of his employees," Andrew had told Cuddy coolly, "but more importantly, I want you all to know that House's secret relationship to doctor Chase is likely to have caused the death of their patient, Laura Hamilton. It seems to me that they were more busy paying attention to each other than to her."

Cuddy had looked absolutely horrified – Chase could tell that she had been more shocked than anyone else to see this.

"Thank you, doctor Andrew – if that was all, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the room right away." She had perhaps seemed angry after watching the tape, but Chase had no idea if she was angry at Andrew for showing them the tape or if she was angry at him and House for messing up like this. "Obviously, this is something that the board has to discuss." She had then added.

Chase remembered how his face had turned tomato red with embarrassment. But when he had looked in House's direction, his boss had remained dangerously calm. He simply knew that this was a bad sign. Having their relationship revealed like this would upset House more than words could describe. This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid all along.

And Chase had been right. As soon as House and himself had been asked to leave the room, House hadn't been able to keep up the calm, nonchalant façade anymore. As soon as they were out in the hallway again, House lost it completely.

That was when he punched the wall and swore that he would kill doctor Andrew for doing this – for humiliating him in front of everyone. And Chase simply didn't know what to say or do in order to make him calm down.

He had had a crazy idea, though; he decided to try and kiss House lovingly on the lips. He knew that it wouldn't make up for what had just happened, but perhaps it was a gesture that could comfort him just a little bit.

"What the hell are you doing?" House hissed angrily and pushed him away before the kiss could even get serious. "Have you lost your mind?"

"We're not a secret anymore," Chase whispered and bit his lip, "everyone will know about us soon because of him."

"No! I'm not going to let that happen." House grunted. "So please don't try and get the job done for him."

Chase wanted to say something, but it wasn't long before doctor Cuddy opened the door to her office and told them to come back inside.

"The board has discussed your case and we've come to an agreement," Cuddy told them as House and Chase were standing in front of her desk, "it has been decided that your careless behaviour lead you both to neglect your patient, Laura Hamilton. The board finds it very likely that the needle in her stomach would have been found if the two of you hadn't been busy sneaking around in abandoned offices. In other words, doctor House and doctor Chase, the board finds that your secret relationship has distracted the two of you to a degree that cannot be accepted. You both failed to your job and for that reason, I'm going to have to ask you to make a decision. Either you end your little affair today, or you're both fired."

For a moment, Chase felt like his heart had stopped. No, this couldn't be happening!

"You can't mean that!" He blurted out and it made him sound like a small child. "You can't fire us for being involved with each other."

"When it affects your work, yes I can." Cuddy said in a firm voice, although she looked sorry at the same time. "I'm sorry, but your relationship is just not appropriate at the hospital. You're doctor House's employee, Chase, and the only relationship that you should have with him ought to be a professional one."

Chase turned around to look at House as he expected him to say something. After all, he was an expert when it came to changing Cuddy's mind about something. But House didn't even seem to want to object.

"If me and doctor Chase agree to end our _affaire_," House said simply, "I assume that it will all remain a secret?"

"Of course." Cuddy told him. "After all, we do respect your privacy."

House nodded.

"_No – no please, don't!"_ Chase thought to himself as he figured out where House was going with this. _"Please don't give up this easily. She doesn't know that our relationship is serious – she doesn't know that we live together. She would never ask us to break up if she knew all that…"_

But before Chase could even beg House to think twice about making the decision, the older man said: "Okay. You can have it your way."

"What?!" Chase heard himself cry out loudly.

"You're sure about that?" Cuddy frowned and looked at House suspiciously. "You don't even want to take a few minutes to talk about it in private?"

"No." House shrugged. "Obviously we're not losing our jobs over this incident. So if you tell us that we have to break it up, then that's what we will do. Isn't that right, doctor Chase?"

House finally looked at him, and Chase thought that he might as well just wither and die inside. Did House really expect him to be fine with this and to actually agree with him? How could he do it to him? How could he act so indifferent when they were talking about ending their relationship?

"No, I… I…" Chase stammered helplessly. What on earth was he supposed to say to this?

"It's settled then." House said. "We're not going to see each other anymore – you got that ruined for us. I hope you're all happy now."

House turned around and began to walk out the room. At first, Chase felt frozen and unable to move, but then he decided to run after the older man – he refused to be left behind in front of Cuddy and the board.

"House – House, wait!" He called out desperately. "You can't just walk away from me like that!"

"Shut up, Robert, you're loud enough to wake up coma patients." House told him as he kept on walking, stubbornly. "I'm still mad at you for pulling that trick on me. If you hadn't lured me into doctor Andrew's office, he never would have found out about us. In a way, this is all your fault!"

"I'm sorry," Chase exclaimed nervously, "but I thought you had forgiven me for that. Please, House, you can't just abandon me like this…"

Finally, House stopped and he pulled Chase close so that he could whisper without anyone else hearing him: "I'm not abandoning you for real, you moron. Cuddy just needs to believe that I am. Maybe she'll even feel guilty for it."

Chase was so taken aback by this that he barely knew what to say when House turned around the corner and continued to walk down the hallway.

"Wait, where are you going?" He asked him bewilderedly, but naturally, he never got an answer out of the older man.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House used his cane to knock on the door to doctor Andrew's office three times – when there was no answer, he impatiently burst the door open.

"I know you're in there, you backstabbing, homophobic son of a bitch!" He yelled as he stepped inside and found doctor Andrew sitting behind his desk. "You better get up from that chair so that I can kick your ass, you little coward!"

"Doctor House, I thought I made it perfectly clear that I don't want any intruders in my office…" Andrew sighed and scowled at him. "Please get out of my face, will you?"

"Oh hell no!" House grunted and walked right up to his desk. "I need you to tell me something, you prick. I want to know why you felt the need to sell us out like that in front of the board. What did you gain from it?"

Doctor Andrew shook his head. "I'm not talking to you about anything, doctor House. Now please go away."

"Oh you wish." Before House even considered the consequences of his actions, he swung his cane and he used it to whack the other doctor in the head. "Now do you want to talk?"

At first, doctor Andrew had been pretty shocked to be hit by House's cane, but now he was furious. He finally rose from his chair.

"No, I don't want to talk," he breathed heatedly, "but now, I do want to teach you a lesson or two, you stubborn jerk."

And just like that, he threw himself forward and swung his own fist in order to punch the crippled doctor out. House tumbled backwards as soon as the fist connected with his face and he dropped his cane out of his hand.

"Now will you leave me alone or do I have to tell you once again?" Doctor Andrew shouted superiorly as he watched House trying to regain his sense of balance on the floor.

"You really shouldn't have done that," House muttered and grinned bitterly, "I'm going to make you regret it, I hope you know."

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do? Hit me with your cane again?" Andrew tested him mockingly.

"It is on." House breathed heavily. "I'm gonna kick your ass, you betrayer."


	10. Idiocy

Chase was searching the hallway, desperately trying to find House when it hit him that he might have disappeared into doctor Andrew's office – although he hoped this wasn't the case. He was very hesitant to knock on the door, knowing that Andrew had just went behind their backs and told Cuddy on them just for sneaking into his office – but then he heard a series of angry noises coming from the other side of the door.

Damn it. It sounded like House was in there, and he was probably giving the other doctor a hard time, thus making things so much worse for himself. Chase knew that he needed to do something even if that meant taking the chance of adding fuel to the fire once again.

He opened the door and was very startled to see what was going on – the two doctors were both on the floor, almost wrestling each other, and he was certain that House had started this. However, that moment it simply didn't matter to him because it was House that was the bottom one; he was down on his back on the hard floor, trying to fight off Andrew and Chase could tell by the blood running from his boyfriend's nose that he had already taken several punches to his head.

He began to shout and beg for them to stop, but none of them seemed to pay any attention to him. Chase threw himself on the floor as he wanted to break them apart, but nothing happened when he tried to pull Andrew away from House by grabbing his shoulders. Andrew shook him off aggressively and nearly kicked him in the stomach as well.

"Stop it! Get off of him!" Chase shouted from the top of his lungs. "Look what you're doing to him for God sakes – he's a crippled man, he's not even supposed to be on the floor. Do you want to make his leg worse?"

Chase could tell that this had Andrew hesitating for a second or two, but naturally, House had to go on and make everything worse by trying to kick him when he was looking the other way.

"That's it, you bastard!" Andrew screamed and started attacking House again. "I'm gonna make you pay for that!"

Andrew was using one hand to hold House down and the other to raise his fist over his head, but Chase finally managed to tackle him and throw him off before he got a chance to deliver any more punches. Luckily, this had the other doctor pausing instead of trying to fight back again and Chase was relieved to see that since he would have been the smaller one in this fight.

"House!" Chase rushed to the older man's side, scared to see how badly he was injured, but then he saw that House could sit up on his own and that was a good start. "Are you okay?" Chase asked him and threw an arm around his shoulders to support him.

"You better… get your hands off me…" House hissed angrily and scowled towards doctor Andrew across the room. "He doesn't like it… when two men touch each other…"

Chase looked at Andrew who immediately pulled a disgusted face.

"It's unnatural!" He shouted, trying to defend himself. "And I'm not the only one who thinks so."

"It's ironic when you consider… that you just had your dirty hands all over me!" House huffed and wiped some of the blood away from his nose and mouth.

"Watch your mouth!" Andrew cried out loud. "I've got a tape now that shows that you came in and attacked me in my own office. I could show it to Cuddy and the board if you don't keep your mouth shut, doctor House."

"Don't you dare threaten him," Chase told him angrily, "if you do that, I could always tell Cuddy how I came in and saw you attacking a crippled man who couldn't defend himself. You just kept on punching him even though he was on the floor, didn't you?"

"Hey, I wouldn't say that… I was losing the fight completely…" House remarked almost proudly, once again showing that he couldn't care less about the future consequences.

"Shut up, House, this is serious." Chase whispered and his voice revealed how annoyed he was.

"He started the fight," Andrew butted in as he supported himself against the wall, "he had it coming and I'm sure that Cuddy would agree with me if I showed her the tape…"

"You're not going to show her any more tapes," Chase snapped, "and if you do, I will make sure to let everyone at this hospital know that you're a homophobe and a backstabber and that you have no problem with assaulting crippled people. Let's see which of those will get you fired, shall we?"

Andrew continued to look angry and offended, but he kept his mouth shut from that moment on. Chase helped House up from the floor, but before they walked out of the office together, House made sure to leave something behind for Andrew to clean up; he spat on the floor, leaving red stains of blood spread all around him.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

For once in his life, Chase was driving the car as the two of them headed straight home from the hospital.

"How are you feeling?" He asked House for the tenth time, probably. The nose bleed had stopped and he now knew that the blood in House's mouth didn't come from a knocked out tooth or anything of the sort, but from his tongue as he had bit it during the fight.

"I'm fine." House grunted. "If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy…" He joked.

"I did see the other guy," Chase sighed, "he looked much better than you."

"I could have easily taken him if I hadn't dropped the cane out of my hands," House snorted, "he was just lucky."

"Or maybe you were just stupid." Chase muttered and House realised that he was still upset.

"Cheer up, Wombat," he told him easily, "I think you managed to scare him into burning the video tape instead of showing it to Cuddy. I had no idea that you could be so firm and manipulative around other people. My little boy is growing up…" House joked once again and padded him on the knee. "I'm almost proud of you."

That was it. Chase knew that he simply couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore. He had had enough of this. He pulled the car over before House even knew what was going on.

"Hey, what are you doing?" House asked him confusedly.

"I'm telling you to stop joking about this." Chase said and turned to look at him. "It's not funny, House. It never was. How can you take all this so lightly? Don't you care about anything that has happened today?"

"Nothing happened today," House shrugged and pulled a face, "nothing we couldn't handle, anyway."

"Cuddy found out about us and told us to break it off!" Chase blurted out. "And your solution was to lie to her without talking to me about it first. You could have asked me what I wanted to do instead of just going along with it. I thought – I thought you meant it when you said that we were over…"

"Oh please, do you really think I'm that cold-hearted?" House grunted. "Do you really think that I would be mean enough to break up with you in front of Cuddy? Besides, would you rather have lost your job instead of telling her a white lie?"

"I don't know." Chase admitted. "Maybe. I'm tired of lying to everyone. I'm tired of hiding behind all your cover stories, Greg."

"So tired that you would rather lose your job?" House frowned. "I thought you loved your job."

"Don't you get it?" Chase looked at him solemnly. "It's _you_ that I love. It's you that I don't want to lose."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

When they were back at the apartment, House's leg began to hurt immensely. It was a sharp pain that had House gasping and he basically collapsed on the couch.

"I'll get your Vicodin for you." Chase said and looked at him worriedly.

"No." House told him simply. "I already took two pills in the car. I'll just have to wait for them to kick in."

"But you're trembling. You're really in pain." Chase could see that the older man was beginning to sweat, too, and he was well aware what this meant.

"Make me forget about it, then." House grabbed his hand and pulled Chase down on top of him, playfully.

"Careful," Chase warned him, "what about your ribs? And I'm sure you have other bruises now, too!"

"As long as you don't go near my leg, I'll be fine." House muttered and wrapped his arms around him so that he couldn't escape even if he wanted to. "Come here."

House initiated a soft kiss and Chase helplessly went along with it. He could feel House's strong arms pulling him closer and closer, but he was afraid to relax his body. He didn't want to cause him any unnecessary pain by staying on top of him, but neither was he able to change his position.

"Mm, you always had the softest lips, baby." House smirked joyfully.

Suddenly, Chase felt uncomfortable. Kissing and cuddling didn't seem right at the moment – there were so many things that they still hadn't talked about. The hearing had taken place just a couple of hours ago and Chase still hadn't been able to process all the things that had been said to the two of them.

"No, wait…" Chase whispered and tried to pull away slowly. "I really think we should talk before we do anything else."

"I'm not in the mood for talking." House answered him dully. "My tongue still hurts, remember."

"Then you ought to keep it out of my mouth." Chase told him straight. "You're not trying to avoid the subject, are you?"

"What subject?" House asked him lazily.

"Laura Hamilton."

"Oh no, I would never do that." House grinned. "It's just that this is so much more appealing. You know it eases my pain when I get to touch you, Wombat."

"You can't use that excuse every time…" Chase tried to stay strong, but he knew that he was caving in once again.

"But I'm in pain," House said pathetically just to mess with the kid's head, "please, just let me have what I want and I'll feel better."

"You can't always get what you want." Chase argued glumly.

"Well, _I_ can." House breathed.

Chase didn't know what to say so he just let House pull him close once more by wrapping his arms around his neck. Another kiss was initiated and this time, Chase couldn't stop it from happening. As much as it made him feel guilty, the kissing went on for several passionate minutes and, of course, one thing lead to another. Before he realised how much strength House had regained, he found himself being pushed down on his back on the couch, his clothes being ripped off his body piece by piece.

House always got what he wanted, he realised as the older man had him gasping and pleading for more. Always.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

"You're an idiot, Greg." Chase told him tiredly as they were about to eat that night. He finally decided to just come out with it instead of letting House change the subject for the thirtieth time.

"I'm sorry, what?" House frowned and began to eat as though the situation hadn't grown more serious. "Just a few hours ago you were calling me _God_ – make up your mind already!"

Chase's expression didn't change. "It's not funny." He said and it felt like he was repeating himself over and over again. "I've been thinking about this and I'm beginning to think that Cuddy and the board were right. Laura Hamilton died because of us."

"Wait, what? How can you even say that?" House immediately dropped his fork on the plate. "For god sakes, the crazy lady killed herself! It had nothing to do with us."

Chase shook his head. "Cuddy was right. If you and I hadn't been so busy keeping our relationship a secret, we would have paid more attention to the case. We would probably have found the needle and then we would have known that she was suicidal. We could have gotten her some help or talked her out of…"

"You gotta be kidding me!" House exclaimed. "She chose to die, do you hear me? There was nothing you could have done to stop her."

"You don't know that!" Chase cried out. "If she had had professional help, then maybe…"

"She would still have done it," House cut him off, "because that's what suicidal people do. They only think about themselves. Since when do you believe in professional help so much? Do you think that professional help could have prevented _your_ mother from drinking herself to death?"

"Don't bring my mother into this." Chase warned him simply without answering the question.

"I'm just saying that life is a choice. And she chose to quit. It's not something that you and I should be punished for." House studied the kid closely with his piercing blue eyes. He could tell that this was something he didn't like to hear.

"You couldn't care less about her death, could you?" Chase pouted and normally, it was something that House found particularly cute. Now it was just becoming problematic. "God, you really _are_ an idiot sometimes, Greg."

House raised his eyebrows. "So – perfectly healthy woman kills herself and leaves her only son behind when he has already lost his father, and she becomes a saint all of a sudden. Me, I wasted hours trying to diagnose an illness she never had and then I get threatened by Cuddy for being involved in my own personal life, too. Yeah, _I'm_ the idiot!"

"You don't get it." Chase said and stood up from his chair. "You could at least show some respect and take this warning seriously. Our relationship stole focus from a woman who was crying out for help and now it's too late. She's dead and we almost got fired. But all you care about is lying to Cuddy so that you can get what you want as usual. You're so selfish sometimes…"

"I am not!" House protested defensively.

"You even started a fight with doctor Andrew, even though none of this was his fault. Why the hell would you take it out on him? Someone could have gotten really hurt…" Chase added angrily.

"Hey, it was _all_ his fault!" House objected. "He was the one who told on us in front of the board. It was because of him that Cuddy wanted to break us up, I hope you know."

"No." Chase shook his head again. "It wasn't his fault. It was my fault for luring you into his office when he was just trying to mind his own business. If you need someone to blame for Cuddy finding out, blame me. I was being far too reckless, and because of my mistakes, Laura Hamilton practically died right in front of me…"

House grunted tiredly. "All right, fine – let me tell you something, Robert. Let me tell you why I was trying to distract you earlier so that we didn't have to talk about this. It wasn't because I didn't care about the hearing, but because I knew that you would be doing this to yourself."

Chase paused when he heard this. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I knew that you were going to take the blame for her death and I knew that you would let the guilt consume you completely, and I didn't want you to be reminded of that." House explained to him. "Don't listen to Cuddy and the board, Robert. We did not kill our patient and you need to accept that."

Chase knew that he now had a tear in his eye. This was getting too much. He didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Maybe I feel too much guilt for what happened," he finally admitted to House, "but I also think that you feel too little."

House looked at his Wombat for a long time, waiting for him to apologize for what he had just said. When Chase said nothing, House asked him bluntly: "So you're not taking the whole "you're an idiot" thing back?"

"No." Chase's voice was like a whisper.

"Fine." House took another bite from his plate, but then he stood up to leave the table. "In that case, I know someone who's not getting lucky again tonight."

And then he grabbed a beer before settling down in from of the TV where he didn't have to listen to any more nonsense.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House was still in pain when the two of them went to bed. He had taken his Vicodin once again, but it didn't seem to work. He was lying flat on his back, kicking off the covers because he was annoyed and felt too uneasy to sleep. His entire leg was throbbing and he knew that this had something to do with his fight with doctor Andrew; if he hadn't fallen to the floor earlier that day, he wouldn't be in this much pain now.

"Is it still not better?" Chase asked him quietly as he lied down by his side.

House still seemed pretty mad about their conversation earlier, so he just grunted and shrugged as though he didn't care.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Chase touched the older man's back caressingly, but he was still ignored. "Can I get you something, baby?"

Suddenly, this had House snorting. "Did you just call me baby? I thought it was idiot?"

Apparently, that nickname had upset House more than Chase had realised. Chase bit his lip as he felt overcome with guilt for a moment.

"I'm sorry." He said as he embraced the other doctor. "I didn't mean it. Please forgive me."

House immediately pushed him away in an almost aggressive manner. "Don't lie to me. I know you meant it. Only a coward would try to take it back just to make peace with someone. Don't be a coward, Robbie."

Chase frowned. "Then what is it that you want me to do? You won't even let me touch you. Please, Greg, don't be like this…"

"I want you to sleep on the couch tonight." House told him straight, in a rather emotionless voice. "I don't think I can relax when you're around. Not tonight. I'd offer to take the couch myself, but you know – my bad leg and all that."

Chase stared at him disbelievingly. "You're kidding me."

"No." House turned his head and looked at him briefly. "I need to be alone right now in an empty bed. Can you please give me that?"

Chase struggled to supress a sigh and ended up grinding his teeth instead. "Fine. Since you asked me so nicely." He muttered compliantly.

He got out of the bed and took his pillow and one of the blankets with him.

"You know where I'll be if you change your mind." He said looking down at House but there was no answer. Just a grunt.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Three hours later, Chase was still awake. He kept shifting on the couch, trying to get comfortable. He could feel his body shaking with exhaustion. He barely even had the strength to keep his eyes open – and yet, he remained sleepless. He thought that he was going to lose his mind…

One hour later, he had managed to sleep for twenty minutes or so. But as soon as he surrendered himself to his dreams, he ended up regretting it. In the middle of another nightmare, he saw the blood-dripping, dead body of Laura Hamilton turning into his own mother and no matter how hard he tried to reach her, he knew that he would never be able to save her. He wouldn't be able to save either one of them. He felt so useless.

The second he realised that he was dreaming, Chase's body jolted as though a small shock had forced him to wake up. His mind returned to his own body, but once again, he found that he had been brought back to a false reality. The living room was pitch dark, but he still thought that he could see objects moving right in front of him. He wanted to back away, but his body remained perfectly still and once again, he was unable to even utter a sound or call out House's name. If only he could escape his own body…

When he finally recovered from his nightly paralysis, he felt so exhausted and desperate to get some rest, but at the same time, very scared to close his eyes and face his dead mother and the patient he couldn't save one more time. It was unbearable. It was torture. His body was beginning to fail him and all his strength had been used up. If he didn't get some proper sleep soon, he'd end up insane. And then House would leave him – which would make him fall apart and lose his job, too. He risked losing everything!

All his misery had driven him desperate enough to go to House's secret stash in the bathroom. He wouldn't just find bottles and bottles of Vicodin, but also a bottle or two of sleeping pills. Chase swallowed two pills without giving it much thought. He didn't care if this meant that he would wake up late in the morning. He felt like he might die without sleep – dreamless sleep, that was.

He grabbed the bottle and went back into the living room. He lied down to sleep but thirty minutes later, he realised that it wasn't going to work. The two pills weren't enough. So he swallowed another two and changed his position so that he was lying on his stomach. After a while, he was feeling drowsy as ever, but his body was still shaking in its restless state and he was far too upset to close his eyes. When another twenty minutes had passed, he decided to take two more pills.

He still couldn't sleep. He was so tired that he couldn't think straight and for that reason, he had forgotten just how many pills he had taken so far. He simply couldn't remember. All he knew was that they obviously hadn't worked yet.

And so he took two more. His hands were shaking so much that he could barely get the small bottle opened. He didn't care. All he wanted to do was drug himself to sleep. He just wanted the nightmares to go away – and it didn't matter to him how.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Luckily, House woke up early that morning.

Luckily, he walked straight into the living room instead of taking a shower first.

Luckily, he spotted Chase on the floor and got worried enough to rush to his side. All of a sudden, he had forgotten about the fights they had had.

Chase was lying on his side, curled up and shaking as though he was in pain. Right next to him was an empty bottle of sleeping pills.

"What the hell did you do?!" House cried out frantically as he fell down to his knees. He put his hand on the kid's shoulder and made him turn around just a little bit so that he could look at him.

Chase blinked and looked up at him with tired, red eyes. He looked feverish; his skin was dead pale but the sweat was almost running from his forehead.

"Greg," he whispered slightly pathetically, "I can't sleep…"

"You don't say!" House yelled back in his face. "You've emptied the bottle of sleeping pills and I know for a fact that it was almost full! What the hell were you thinking? Were you trying to kill yourself?"

Chase's expression remained blank and House wondered if the kid even knew what was going on.

"I didn't mean to." Chase spoke quietly and he sounded like a child who was about to get scolded by his parents.

"Right – I'm sure you ate them all by accident!" House huffed and rolled his eyes. "You're not even supposed to mix those pills with your anti-depressants, you moron! You've just made yourself a very dangerous cocktail – I'm surprised you're not out cold yet!"

"I told you, I can't sleep." Chase repeated miserably and now his voice was trembling, too. "Besides, I didn't know I had emptied the bottle. I forgot how many pills I had taken."

"In that case, you're an even bigger idiot than I am!" House told him as he reached for his phone on the table. "They will have to pump your stomach now, I hope you know."

This time, Chase didn't respond. He was beginning to struggle to keep his eyes open. House was looking the other way when he called for an ambulance, but the minute he hung up the phone, he noticed how quiet Chase had gotten.

"Robert!" House shook the kid by the shoulder a couple of times. "Robert, you need to keep your eyes open for me. Just a little longer, okay? Don't fall asleep now."

But naturally, the kid didn't react to this. He was only shaking lightly now which meant that his body was growing heavier and heavier. There was no way that House could keep him awake until the ambulance arrived. In fact, it was a wonder that Chase had even managed to stay conscious up until now.

House sat down on the floor and pulled the kid into his lap – something that also failed to wake him up. "I'm gonna make you pay for scaring me like this, Robbie." He whispered sadly in the young man's ear. "You better pull through or I'll never forgive you. Do you understand?"

And then he hugged him tighter than ever before.


	11. Blood

House was standing outside of Chase's room, watching him sleep peacefully. It was early in the morning and the hospital seemed pretty quiet. Still, House felt like a storm was coming and he felt anything but calm.

He had no idea how this could have happened right under his nose. He never saw it coming and now, he almost felt like he was trapped in a nightmare. He had almost lost his Wombat. Why had he acted so stubborn and ordered him out of the bedroom? If Chase had been lying in his bed instead of on the couch, things might have been different. House would have noticed what he was doing much earlier and he would have stopped him.

Chase had been all alone when he'd suffered through another nightmare and another paralysis. No wonder it had driven him temporarily insane…

House didn't hear Cuddy coming before she was standing right behind him. He was so focused keeping his eyes on Chase that the world around him nearly ceased to exist.

"House," Cuddy spoke quietly, "can I see you in my office for a second?"

"No." House didn't even bother to look at her. "I need to stay here in case he wakes up."

"He's had a rough night and a rough week and he has barely been sleeping," Cuddy reminded him, "he won't wake up this quickly."

House clenched his hand tightly around the cane. "Fine. I can give you ten minutes, but that's it."

"That's all I need." Cuddy looked up at him, watching his tired expression closely. "Follow me."

As they reached Cuddy's office and the door had been closed behind them, House realised what sort of conversation they were about to have. But for once, he let Cuddy speak first.

"I heard that you were with him in the ambulance when he was admitted," Cuddy told him straight and looked him in the eyes, "and as you may understand, House, that confuses me a great deal. You told me that the two of you would break things off and stop seeing each other. Was that a lie?"

House studied Cuddy's stern face before he could even answer. "Did you really expect us to break up with each other just like that and then never talk to each other in private about it afterwards? No last words, no kiss goodbye? If that was what you wanted, you should have been more clear about it."

"I was being perfectly clear," Cuddy argued, "and I told you exactly what I wanted – for you to end your affair and be professionals again. Not tomorrow, not in a week, House, but _now_."

House couldn't help but to snort. "Before you turn all ice-queen on me, let me remind you that we _did_ break up. In your office when you threatened to fire both of us."

"Then why were you with Chase when he swallowed the sleeping pills?" Cuddy challenged him.

"We needed one last night together." House said in all seriousness. "Are you really surprised by that?"

Cuddy chuckled and shook her head, irritably. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? You can't have your cake and eat it too, House. You can't just tell me and the board that you've ended your affair with Chase and then continue to see him behind our backs. That was not part of the agreement."

House sighed. "We _did_ break up – how many times do I have to say it? We did exactly what you wanted us to. Why do you think the idiot swallowed all those pills in the first place?"

"Wait, what?" Cuddy froze. "Are you telling me that Chase tried to kill himself because you broke up with him?"

"Because you _made_ me break up with him." House corrected her coldly.

Cuddy looked as though she didn't understand a word of this. "But why would he kill himself over a simple break-up? He must have experienced a number of break-ups before – surely he couldn't have tried to kill himself every single time…"

"You're right. Of course he didn't try to kill himself after every break-up in his life. This was the first time."

House felt bad for telling Cuddy these lies that would, undoubtedly, make her feel guilty and responsible for this accident, but he couldn't think of any other explanation. If he told Cuddy the truth about Chase's nightmares and depression, she might think that he was experiencing guilt after having "killed" his patient. Therefore, House had to convince her that it was a suicide attempt and not just a horrible mistake that was made because the kid couldn't sleep.

"So what does this mean?" Cuddy spoke slowly and she looked upset now. "He wanted to kill himself because we broke the two of you up? House, just how serious was your relationship to him? Is there something you haven't told me?"

House decided that he might as well try to answer this question truthfully. "Yeah. There's a lot I haven't told you actually." He exhaled loudly. "Chase moved in with me not too long ago. We've been seeing each other for much longer than you realise. We – we're in love. He has told me that he loves me many times, and now I've finally learned to say those words back."

Cuddy was looking more sad and guilt-ridden than ever. House could tell that she was taken aback by what she had just learned.

"I had no idea." She whispered. "Oh my God, I would never have told the two of you to break up if I knew all this. How could you not tell me? I thought it was just a casual affair!"

"It was anything but casual." House admitted simply.

Cuddy sighed and bit her lip. "Obviously it's too late to tell that to the board now. They might not know the whole story, but I know they wouldn't change their minds just like that."

"So what are you saying?" House asked her. "Do you still want us to stay away from each other just because of the board?"

Cuddy paused. "No, I don't." She admitted tiredly. "If you and Chase are seriously in love, then I can't stop you from being together. But I warn you, House, if anyone sees the two of you together at this hospital, it will have consequences. The board would probably try to get you fired."

"That won't happen." House shrugged. "Not if you're covering for us."

Cuddy took in a deep breath. "I can only cover for you if you're careful. And if you make sure to focus on your patients instead of on Chase."

"Sure." House muttered. "Don't get caught by anyone, I get it. So – are we done here? Because I really want to be there when he wakes up."

"Yes, we're done." Cuddy told him. Just as House was about to walk out the door, she added: "I noticed a change in you just now, House. You must really care about Chase 'cause you're not making jokes anymore."

House looked over his shoulder. "What can I say? It's not funny anymore." He replied.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House closed the blinds so that no one from outside could look into Chase's room. Foreman and Cameron had probably arrived at the hospital by now and it was only a matter of time before they received the news that their colleague had been admitted. House didn't want the two of them to find him in Chase's room when that happened, but neither did he want to leave the young man's side.

He was seated in the chair next to the large hospital bed. There was a small TV in the room, but House hadn't even turned it on once while he was waiting. His only focus was on the sleeping blond right in front of him.

"I doubt you even know how concerned you've made me." House sighed as he ran his fingers through the soft, golden strands of hair. "I knew you had a problem, but I never realised how serious it was. From now on, you're never leaving my bed again, young man."

Chase just kept on breathing peacefully as though House wasn't even there. He looked about as fragile as a child and very much alone in this world. If he hadn't had House by his side, who would have even come here to see him? House couldn't think of anyone besides Cameron, maybe. But she would have made a fuss over everyone and that wouldn't exactly have made things easier for him.

"Maybe I've had a bad impact on you. Maybe I have made you unhappy." House whispered bitterly. "You never did crazy things like this before you knew me. Swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills sounds exactly like something I would do. Not you. Maybe you would have been better off without me even if that meant you would be living alone."

House thought about it for a moment. But even if it was true that Chase was better off without him, House knew that he could never let go of the kid. Not after so long. He had gotten used to having Chase around and normally, he couldn't even stand to have Wilson around him for more than a day at the time. He was now used to having that special someone to talk to and to laugh with when they were watching TV together. He had grown accustomed to Chase's cuddly nature and all the hugs he would give him. He had grown to like the way that the young man would lean against him when he was tired and falling asleep on the couch – and he had grown to love the feeling of holding Chase in his arms, especially in bed at night. The kid's skin was always so smooth and soft – and warm. Chase was the warmest person that House had ever held in his arms and it was the kind of warmth that would only continue to feel good.

No, House couldn't let go of him even if it had been for Chase's own good. He leaned forward and kissed the Australian's cheek softly. But then his pager made a loud noise that ruined a perfectly nice moment and House was annoyed to see that the page was from Cameron.

_House, where are you? Both you and Chase are missing and I think we might have a new patient._

House groaned out loud. "She's always trying to steal the picture, isn't she?" He asked Chase who, naturally, didn't say a word. "Thanks, baby, I knew you would agree with me." House got up from the chair even though he felt very unwilling. "I'm afraid I should go to them before they come to me," House told Chase as though the kid was actually listening, "but I'll be back as soon as I get rid of them. I promise."

House kissed his young lover's cheek once again before leaving the room. "Don't wake up before I get back, Wombat. You'll need plenty of rest."

At the time House reached the diagnostics room, he could tell that both Foreman and Cameron were waiting on him impatiently. Apparently he had arrived at last minute as Cameron had threatened to tell Cuddy how late he was.

House went along with it and pretended to be late because he had slept in – again. "For god sakes, woman, I had a very exhausting day yesterday," he told Cameron as he popped a few Vicodin pills, "can't you for once just let me have a nice and easy morning?"

"No I can't." Cameron crossed her arms and frowned. "Besides, you went straight home after the hearing had ended yesterday. How can you call that an exhausting day?"

House smirked. It was tempting to tell them about his fight with doctor Andrew, but he knew that _that_ would have too many consequences. "So what's the rush?" He asked them instead and turned to look at Foreman. "Do we have a new patient or what?"

"Actually, no we don't." Foreman admitted. "We thought we had a case, but as it turns out, Cuddy gave it to someone else. We just needed an excuse to call you and Chase in. But so far, you've managed to beat Chase to the race."

House frowned and pretended to be surprised by this. "So the rich kid is still at home sleeping, huh? I can imagine how annoyed you must be that he's getting away with it."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Foreman blurted out. "You're not going to call him and do something about it?"

"Nope!" House sat down at the table and leaned back in the seat as though he didn't have a care in the world. "I don't care why he couldn't be bothered to show up, but since we don't have any patients yet, we wouldn't have needed his help anyway."

Foreman rolled his eyes. "That's so typical!" He huffed. "People like Chase can get away with anything they want."

"Unlike you, you little car-thief," House mocked him, "you never manage to get away with anything no matter how hard you try to fight the power, do you?"

Foreman scowled, but said nothing. At the same time, Cameron was watching House closely as though she was expecting to get some kind of answer from him.

"House, can I see you in your office for a minute?" She asked him, not caring that this would make Foreman wonder a great deal.

"But I just sat down!" House blurted out dramatically.

"House, I mean it." Cameron was looking pretty pissy at this point.

House groaned irritably. "Fine! Foreman – go to my office and close the door! We can have the talk here, can't we?"

Foreman looked as though he wanted to protest, but in the end, he did what he was told and it was just House and Cameron left in the diagnostics room.

"Something is up," Cameron said, "I can tell from the way you're behaving. Normally you would never allow Chase to just sleep in and stay away from work. So what do you know that we don't?"

House should have known that she was going to make this very difficult for him, but he hadn't been prepared for this sort of question.

"I know many things that you don't know." He teased her and began to play with the cane in his hands. "But if you want me to tell it all to you, Foreman might have to stay inside my office for a very long time…"

"I'm not kidding, House." Cameron crossed her arms again. "Is something wrong with Chase? I know they didn't fire him so what is it? Is he upset about something that was said during the hearing?"

House exhaled heavily. "Well, I suppose that getting blamed for a crazy lady's death is something that might upset certain people."

"What? They really blamed him for what happened?" She basically gasped. "How could they do that when it was a suicide?"

House shrugged. "They blamed me, too, if that helps. But Chase took it a little harder than I did."

"Obviously." Cameron was beginning to look concerned. "Maybe I should go to his place and talk to him? Someone should let him know that he's a good doctor and that it wasn't his fault."

"Why are you always so eager to meddle in?" House sighed. "There's nothing you can tell him that someone else haven't told him already. Just leave him alone for now. I'm sure he'll get over it soon enough."

"It just doesn't feel right." Cameron said in a small whisper.

"He'll get over it." House forced himself to say coolly.

"One more thing," Cameron added when she saw that House was getting up from his seat, "Cuddy told Foreman and me that the board has forced you to break up with someone who has been distracting you from doing your job." She took a step closer to him. "You told us that you were dating a nurse, right? But you broke up with her before the patient died – because Chase walked in on the two of you. Does this mean that you have been seeing someone else that we don't know about?"

House wanted to back away as Cameron approached him again. Bloody hell, why couldn't she just stay out of his business for once?

"No," he said firmly, "but even if I had been seeing someone new, I wouldn't have told you."

Cameron smiled lightly. "So does this mean that you're single?"

House froze. It felt as though he had walked right into a trap. Obviously he couldn't tell her that he was seeing someone, but if she heard that he was single there was no way in hell that she would leave him alone. And right now, the last thing he needed was for another woman to watch his every single move.

"The only loves I will ever have in my life," House told her, "will be drinking beers in front of the TV, getting out of clinic duty without Cuddy finding out, and beating Wilson's ass in a poker game. There isn't room for anything or anyone else in my life."

House began to walk away from her, but he noticed that Cameron was now frowning again like a spoiled school girl who had been denied what she wanted the most.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

"God, I hate Cameron…" House muttered to himself as he walked into Chase's room. "Why does she always have to spy on people and make things difficult for everyone?"

House appreciated the quietness in the room and the fact that Chase hadn't woken up yet. But then he noticed that someone had left a big vase full of flowers on the nightstand. Apparently, Chase had had a visitor while House was away.

There was a card in between the flowers and House picked it up as he wanted to read it.

_Get better soon – L. C. _

House chuckled to himself. So Cuddy really _was_ feeling guilty about what had happened. That was probably an advantage for both him and Chase, he realised.

"Look who's popular all of a sudden," House joked as he squeezed Chase's hand carefully, "when Cameron finds out that you almost died, she's gonna forget about me and buy you twice as many flowers as Cuddy did."

House took a good look at Chase before he noticed that the kid was beginning to stir. It didn't look like he was about to wake up, though. He looked slightly uneasy – anxious, even – but he was still asleep.

"Hey, what's going on with you?" House whispered when he saw that the kid's heart rate had increased. It sounded like his breathing had become more irregular, too. Obviously Chase's airways were clean and it wasn't like he was about to have a heart attack or anything. House realised that this was fear – Chase was having another nightmare, even in the dosed-up state that he was in.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" House sighed and sat down in the chair right beside him. "You are not going to have nightmares for the rest of your life, are you?"

Chase's chest was moving up and down as he breathed faster and faster. The kid's expression had barely changed, but his body language gave him away. His head shifted from one side to the other as though he was trying to escape something, and every now and then he would clench his fists as though he needed to protect himself against something or someone.

House felt bad witnessing all this; he wanted more than anything to try and wake him up and put an end to his misery, but it didn't seem right. The kid needed to catch as much sleep as he possibly could, and besides, House feared that he would only shock the kid by waking him up after what he had just been through. Maybe the shock would cause him another paralysis or something similar and it would just be too much.

"Please, baby, just try and relax," House told him worriedly as he took a hold of Chase's cold hand, "if your heart rate increases again, you're gonna have a scared nurse running into your room."

House kissed the hand that he was holding, but no matter what he said or did at the moment, he knew that Chase was suffering through a nightmare that he couldn't be helped out of by anyone.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Unfortunately, Chase had no idea that House was sitting by his side. If he had known, his dreams probably wouldn't have scared him out of his wits the way they did.

Without being able to remember where he really was and why, Chase dreamt that he was standing outside a burning house, watching the flames devour the wood piece by piece. The smoke was turning black and heavy, but for some reason, Chase didn't get choked by it. He moved closer to the house as he recognized it; it looked just like the house that he had once lived in with his parents, back in Australia.

He knew that he should probably try to escape the scene since burning buildings wasn't something you wanted to be around. But he wondered why everything was so quiet. Apparently, he was the only one who had noticed the fire – no one else was bothered to even look up at the flames or call 911.

Suddenly, he had a horrible feeling that someone was still inside the house. He knew for a fact that his father wasn't home, because he never was. But what about his mother? Had she escaped the flames in time or was she still lying in her bed?

Chase began to move towards the entrance. He called out his mother's name, hoping to hear her voice from somewhere. But it was all quiet. He called for her one more time, but then he decided that he had to go in after her. He didn't want her to burn up alive just because she was too drunk to walk out of her room.

"_I'm coming to help you out, mom!"_ He could hear himself say and he was surprised to hear his own voice instead of a child's. After all, he had never known his mother as an adult man.

As he was walking up the stairs to her bedroom, he could see the flames surrounding him, but he didn't even feel the heat.

"_Mom? Are you in there?" _

Chase knew it in his heart that he was about to discover a dead body being burnt to ashes as soon as he opened the bedroom door. He just knew that his mother had to be dead by now, and yet, he couldn't leave without checking first. He _had_ to be sure before he walked away forever.

"_Mom, it's me…"_ He heard himself say and his voice didn't even tremble.

Chase opened the door and the smell of death was the first thing that reached him. It was a horrible, heart-breaking smell that he wished he had never smelt before, but sadly, he recognized it too well. Why did his mother have to smell like this every time she died before his eyes?

Chase could see his mother's body lying very still on the bed. The flames were already licking her skin and she should be screaming out in pain by now. Unless she had already been killed by the heavy smoke. Was she really dead? Chase was pretty sure that she was. But did that mean that he was supposed to just leave her there?

He turned around when he heard a noise and it felt like his heart stopped beating for a second. Oh no – this couldn't be happening! He couldn't be seeing what he thought he was seeing. Dear God, let it be another hallucination…

Chase was staring straight at House – House was standing just a few feet away from the bed. He was trapped in the flames just like his dead mother was.

"_Greg…"_ Chase whispered and reached out his hand for him. _"Greg, you're bleeding!"_

House didn't move or speak at all. He kept his eyes on Chase the whole time, but it was an empty stare. The blood was streaming down House's face, and his arms and legs, too. The blood was gushing out of him until he was covered in red and Chase wanted to scream or cry because he knew that no one could ever survive this.

"_Greg, you're bleeding."_ He said again, struggling with the tears. _"Let me help you. I love you…"_

He stepped forward and reached out his hand for him once again. But as soon as his fingertips touched his boyfriend's shoulder, House's entire body was immediately set on fire – the flames had surrounded him and they were dancing all over his bleeding body.

"_No!"_ Chase cried out from the top of his lungs. _"No, please – Greg, take my hand! I can help you – please take my hand…"_

House didn't move an inch. The fire was eating him up and yet, he didn't do a damn thing about it.

"_Greg, you will die if you don't let me help you!"_ Chase shouted. _"Please, I can't lose you, too. I can't live without you, so please take my hand…"_

Chase reached out for him one last time, but he never managed to touch the older man before House fell over and landed on his back. He had literally dropped dead on the spot and now, the flames were eating the remains of his blood-dripping body.

It was too late. He had died and Chase couldn't save him. He had lost House, the most precious thing to him ever – why hadn't he been able to save him?

"_No! Greg, come back to me – don't leave me, please!"_

Chase began to scream and cry uncontrollably – he wanted to take House's place and die instead of him. He didn't want to live without the only man he'd ever loved. How could this have happened? It might as well have been the end of the world for him.

Chase was lying in the hospital bed, kicking and struggling to free himself from whatever was surrounding him this time. He kept on crying, yelling and begging for House to come back to him – obviously not realising that the nightmare had ended and that he was finally waking up for the first time since he had his stomach pumped.

"Hey, Robbie, it's me! Calm down, everything is fine – you're fine, do you hear me?" House had his arms wrapped around Chase's body as he tried to hold him down – he was acting as though he had lost it completely. "Stop kicking for god sakes, it's just me!"

Chase heard House's voice close to his ear and he froze for a moment. Could it really be? He opened his eyes slowly and he saw that he was in a white, silent room without any flames and without the thick, black smoke. And only then did it occur to him that he'd experienced another nightmare – the worst one so far.

"Greg…" Chase's voice broke completely. "Greg, I thought I had lost you!"

Chase basically jumped forward and threw his arms around House's neck, and it all happened so quickly that House nearly lost all sense of balance. All of a sudden, he had his Wombat clinging to him and crying his eyes out so that all the tears landed on House's shirt.

"What do you mean you almost lost me?" House took in a deep breath and bit his lip. "I was the one who nearly lost _you_, remember?"

"I dreamt that you died and that there was nothing I could do to save you," Chase sobbed anxiously and buried his head even closer to House's chest, "I thought I just watched you die. I thought I'd lost you, too…"

"'Too'? What do you mean 'too'?" House wanted to comfort the young man so bad, but at the same time, he was so overwhelmed to see Chase wake up like this. Normally, when they had patients at the hospital waking up after nearly having died, the first conversations were much more quiet and supressed.

Chase just kept on crying, hopelessly unable to answer House's question. "Don't… leave… me…" He practically had to gasp for air as the crying was taking up all of his strength.

"I'm not leaving." House whispered and pulled him closer. He was grateful that the nurses hadn't entered Chase's room yet. "You know I'll stay with you for as long as you need it, Robbie. Just stop crying – please? It's all going to be okay. You're alive and that's all that matters. Do you remember being brought to the hospital?"

Chase finally took a break from the tear-shedding and he thought about what had happened to him this morning. "I remember." He sniffled and tried to wipe away the tears. "I'm so sorry, Greg. I didn't mean to do what I did."

"I almost thought you were gonna die on me." House spoke truthfully, slightly pained to relive that awful moment when he had found the kid on the floor. "You emptied the bottle, you idiot."

"I'm sorry," Chase repeated exhaustedly, "I was out of it – I didn't know what I was doing. I was so desperate to sleep…"

"I know." House said soothingly. "It's okay, I know you're not suicidal, baby. But you do know what this means, don't you?"

"What?" Chase sniffled again.

"It means that we have to stop fighting. No more sleeping in separate rooms, okay? I can't have you going through these nightmares all by yourself again." House ran his fingers through Chase's hair. "I will do anything it takes to help you, Wombat. I want these nightmares and paralyses of yours to be over from now on, do you understand? We can't keep ignoring your problems."

Chase knew that House was right, but he didn't know how to forget about what he had just dreamt – he could still see House's dead body burning up in flames right in front of him and he had to supress the urge to scream one more time. He never wanted to dream about something that awful ever again.

He thought to himself: What if it hadn't just been a bad dream? What if it had been a warning? What if something bad was actually going to happen to House? And what if there was nothing he could do to stop it or to save him?

He couldn't live without House. He just couldn't.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House stayed with Chase for the rest of the day. By the end of the afternoon, both Foreman and Cameron had left the hospital and it made House feel slightly more calm. He was glad that neither of them had heard about Chase's accident yet.

Yet.

Chase was getting tired again, but House sensed that a part of him was still scared to fall asleep.

"You should get some more rest." House told him when he saw how exhausted he looked. "Don't worry, I'll stay while you sleep."

"Really?" Chase asked him. "Won't Cuddy come to kick you out when visiting hours are over?"

"Cuddy? Don't worry about her. I got her wrapped around my finger." House smirked.

"Were those flowers really from her?" Chase's voice was full of wonder.

"Yeah. That's just how guilty she feels after seeing you here." House smiled. "Trust me, she feels way too guilty to separate us again."

"You're mean, Greg." Chase tried to stay serious, but House's careless expression had him laughing, too. "I feel bad for her now. It wasn't her fault."

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it." House teased him. "I bet she still sleeps better at night than you do."

House knew that he had hit a soft spot, but he hoped that Chase wouldn't take offense.

"Yeah," Chase whispered tiredly, "I bet you're right."

"Come on, Robbie, you really should get some sleep. You've had a long day." House forced the young man to lie down on his back so that he could relax.

"I don't know if I can sleep." Chase admitted. "I'm feeling cold."

House felt the kid's forehead. "Cold, huh? That's funny, because I swear you seem feverish to me. I should probably take your temperature."

"No, that won't be necessary. I'm fine." Chase told him and smiled lightly. "It's just a bit chilly in here, I think."

House wanted to say that he thought it was plenty hot in the room, but he stopped himself from doing that. He was sure that Chase was only feeling this way because he was still exhausted and perhaps a bit traumatised from earlier.

"In that case, let me keep you warm while you sleep." House said and was about to crawl under the covers next to his Wombat. "Unless you want me to get you something to eat first?"

"No, it's okay. I'm really not that hungry." And as House got under the covers with him, he whispered: "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. You're not feeling nauseous, are you?"

"Well – maybe a little." Chase confessed. "But I'm sure it'll get over soon."

"Right." House thought about it for a moment. "Here, let me share my warmth with you, kiddo." He smirked and spooned Chase before the kid knew what he was doing. "But I must warn you, young man, there's no getting aroused around here. It's a hospital, for god sakes, so you need to show some respect although I know it's very hard not to feel aroused around a handsome stud like me."

"You're so silly." Chase giggled. He loved being close to House again and feeling his arms around him.

"Okay, so I'm silly _and_ handsome? I can live with that!" House whispered in his ear and pulled him closer. "Close your eyes, baby – you can admire my handsome looks later, all right?"

"All right." Chase sighed sleepily. "But you better keep that promise."

House kissed Chase's neck and pulled the covers over his shoulders, too. It wouldn't be long before the Wombat was asleep again, but for some reason, House remained concerned. He still seemed feverish and his body was even trembling lightly. Was he not getting better at all?

Chase had been sleeping for twenty minutes when someone entered the room.

"House?"

House immediately looked up to find Wilson in the doorway.

"Can't talk now," House whispered, "he's asleep and I'm the big spoon."

"Right." Wilson walked towards the bed. "I just wanted you to know that I heard what happened. I'm really sorry, it must have been quite a scare."

"If you're gonna talk, at least lower your voice." House told him. "I don't want him to wake up now…"

"Well, how is he doing?" Wilson asked. "He looks a bit pale, doesn't he?"

House sighed. "If you're gonna keep asking me questions, we should continue the conversation out in the hall."

House climbed out of the bed and followed Wilson outside.

"So what happened? I heard it was sleeping pills." Wilson remarked. He looked deeply concerned.

"Then you know what happened." House shrugged. "It was stupid. It was a mistake. But it happened because he couldn't sleep. We had a fight and I told him to sleep on the couch…"

"It wasn't your fault." Wilson told him immediately. "You can't blame yourself for this."

"I don't." House said truthfully.

"Do you blame Chase then?"

"No, I don't blame anyone. Like I said, it was a mistake. It won't happen again because from now on, I'm gonna be paying more attention."

Wilson nodded, looking very relieved to hear this. "Is he feeling any better yet?"

House sighed and shook his head. "Honestly? I doubt it. He still seems upset. Unhappy, even. And I don't know what to do or say to make him happy again."

"Maybe it's not up to you," Wilson suggested, "maybe it's up to him."

House was about to say something when he heard a noise from Chase's room that had him pausing. Coughing – really loud coughing.

_Damn it, he woke up already._

House let himself back inside the room and Wilson was right behind him. He had no idea what he had expected to see, but it wasn't this: Chase was sitting upright in the bed, holding a bowl in his hands. It was obvious that he had just used the bowl to throw up in.

"Robert?" House said as he rushed towards the bed. "Are you okay?"

"I – I don't know…" Chase's voice was hoarse and he looked even more feverish than before. "I think I might have a problem."

House looked down in the bowl even though he didn't really want to. And then he saw that it was full of blood instead of vomit.


	12. Diagnosis

Chase was trying to sit up in the hospital bed so that he could face Wilson. The oncologist had just come back from his office and now he was carrying a small bottle of pills in his hand.

"Here you go," Wilson said gently, treating Chase like any other patient, "I got you some mild pain killers. You will probably need something stronger eventually, but this should work for now."

"Thank you." Chase smiled awkwardly; he was still mortified that he had actually thrown up blood right in front of Wilson and of course, House too. "I guess I should try them right away."

Wilson nodded. "Are the stomach aches still bad?"

Chase shrugged. "It could be a lot worse. It'll be fine."

Wilson could tell that the Australian felt uncomfortable talking about it, but this was not just something he could ignore.

"Why didn't you tell House that you were in pain before?" He asked him carefully, trying not to pry too much. "It seems likely that your stomach aches are related to your fever. He could have prescribed something to make you feel better much sooner than this."

"I know." Chase hesitated for a short while, unsure if he even knew how to explain it. "I probably should have told him, but I didn't want him to worry. You see, it's not been a good week for me and I've already burdened him more than enough."

"Burdened him?" Wilson repeated disbelievingly. "Chase, please. You have seemed troubled and exhausted for a long time now, but House – he has seemed just fine. Sure, he's been worried about you, but it's nothing that he can't handle. In fact, I think it's good for him to actually worry about another human being every now and then. Especially you."

Chase tried to smile. He wanted nothing more than to just believe Wilson, but he still wasn't sure of himself. "Thanks for saying that. But I do think that House has been frustrated with me these past few days. I haven't made things easy for him at all."

"He never makes things easy for you either, I bet." Wilson added.

"Maybe not, but that's different." Chase took a sip of water and swallowed two of the pills that Wilson had handed him. "I've been complaining about a lot of things lately, I've been moody and depressed, I've been acting insane – especially when I emptied a bottle of sleeping pills just because I was out of it. House is not used to me being so difficult. I didn't want to show him this side of myself this quickly."

"Chase, you can't keep things from him just because you're afraid of what he'll think." Wilson sat down in the chair beside the bed. "You've been through something traumatic. You watched your patient kill herself and you've even had the board blaming you for things that you shouldn't be blamed for at all. You've been under so much stress, it's only natural to have a breakdown of some sort."

"Maybe. But I don't see House getting affected by his patients' deaths, ever." Chase huffed quietly. "He must think I'm really weak."

"Hey, House isn't in the position to judge you just because he's your boss. You know what House is like," Wilson said, "if he gets affected by something, he doesn't necessarily show it."

"I know." Chase bit his lip. "I just don't want him to grow tired of me over this. If I had told him about the stomach aches, he might have thought that I was being too whiney. I mean, it's nothing compared to what he's going through with his leg."

"You can't think like that," Wilson said in all seriousness, "just because House has experienced some really bad pains doesn't mean that your pains aren't worth mentioning, too. Besides, you should be able to tell him these things. You're living together for God sakes – you didn't plan to keep it to yourself in all eternity, did you?"

Chase didn't know what to say. He hadn't even thought of a next step. Everything had just been so stressful, so unbearably painful…

"I just don't want him to get tired of me." Chase muttered and looked down, avoiding Wilson's stare. "I'll be fine, the stomach aches will be over again soon. But if I lose House because I've complained too much…"

"Trust me, you're not gonna lose him that easily." Wilson sighed; it concerned him a great deal to hear Chase thinking so low of himself. "House loves you. He's not going to leave you just because you're going through a rough patch. He's an expert when it comes to misery, remember."

Finally, this had Chase grinning again. "Yeah, I suppose that's true." He said.

Wilson smiled and nodded knowingly. "Just promise me you'll include him from now on. Tell him how you feel – tell him if you're in pain. He cares more than you think."

"All right." Chase agreed, and Wilson got up from his seat. Before he left the room, Chase looked up and had him pausing. "Uhm, one last thing," he said slowly, "what do you think I might have?"

Wilson had hoped that Chase wouldn't ask him this. "Well, I'm not sure." He said truthfully. "House is the diagnostician around here, isn't he? Why don't you wait for him to figure it out?"

Chase nodded and did his best not to look concerned. "Sure. I'll do that." He said as he held his arm over his stomach, hoping that it might relieve the pain a little bit. "Thanks, Wilson."

"Feel better soon." Wilson smiled sincerely as he walked out the room. He had pretended not to notice because he thought that it was the politest thing to do, but the truth was that he could tell Chase's stomach ache was still pretty bad.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House returned to Chase's room shortly after Wilson left. He saw the kid lying down in the bed as though he was asleep, but as soon as House entered, Chase sat up as though he'd been waiting for him impatiently.

"Hey," House said as he moved to his bedside, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Chase said and smiled as he looked up at House's face. It felt like House had been gone for too long, but he knew that it was late afternoon and that House hadn't had time to eat all day. He had probably wanted to get something from the cafeteria before it closed.

House sighed and looked slightly hesitant. "Actually , no – you're not fine, Robbie." When Chase looked at him as though he didn't understand, he added: "Congratulations – you've got an ulcer now. And a pretty nasty one, too, if you ask me."

"An ulcer?" Chase repeated disbelievingly. "Are you sure that's what it is? What about my fever?"

"I'm sure your fever was brought on by the stress you have been under and the pain that you have been hiding from me." House looked grave when he said this. "So I guess the question is – why did a clever, young doctor like yourself fail to diagnose an ulcer? Why did you have to hear it from me? I'm sure that you must have been in pain for a while and I'm sure that you are very well aware of the fact that both stress and stomach aches can indicate the formation of an ulcer."

"House…" Chase sighed, not knowing what to say. "Please don't be mad."

"Tell me," House went on, "have you puked blood more than once without telling me about it?"

Chase couldn't help but to feel slightly offended. House was treating him like a child – or like an idiot who couldn't take care of himself. "No, this was the first time." Chase told him sulkily. "And if you think I'm lying, you might as well…"

"I don't think you're lying," House cut him off, "but I do think that you're in denial."

"Denial?" Chase snorted. "What on earth do you mean by that?"

"I don't think you realise how serious this is." House took a look at the bottle of pills that Wilson had given the kid. "This is not just a bad stomach ache. And you're not just feeling insomniac these days because you're having a bad period. You've been through something traumatic, Robert, and it's making you sick. _Really_ sick."

"Are you saying that this is all psychological? That it'll go away when I'm happier again?" Chase hardly knew what to think about this theory. "Are you sure it's not something else? I still think that the paralyses could be brought on by something neurological…"

"It's not neurological!" House blurted out impatiently. "You have always been healthy, Robert, and you still are. But you are refusing to see what your actual problem is. You have been under a lot of stress and it's slowly tearing you apart…"

"Hold on," Chase shook his head as though he didn't agree at all, "Laura Hamilton wasn't just _my_ patient – she was also yours, _and_ Foreman's, _and_ Cameron's. I wasn't even the first to find her after she died. So why should I be affected by this any more than anyone else?"

House paused. "Maybe because she reminds you of your dead mother. I mean, there is obviously a connection here…"

"I don't want to talk about my mother," Chase objected, "you know that."

"Fine. But we do have to talk about your problem. Today you're puking blood, who knows what might be wrong with you tomorrow if we don't take care of it?"

"Please, I'm not gonna get sicker." Chase tried to persuade him.

"That's right, you're not. Not on my watch." House took Wilson's pills and put them in his pocket. "You won't need these. We'll give you some stronger antibiotics as part of the treatment. Are you with me so far?"

"I'm a doctor, too, I know how to treat ulcers…" Chase whispered, slightly offended.

"I know you understand the treatment, I'm just asking if you agree to do it." House studied Chase carefully. "And after that, we'll look for one more treatment. One that will make you forget about everything that has happened and actually make you happy again."

"I am happy." Chase protested, but it didn't sound too convincing. "Don't make it psychological, House, you make me feel like I'm losing my mind."

"There's nothing wrong with feeling depressed or traumatised. And I never called you crazy, you know that. By the way, you don't have to call me House when there's no one else around." House reminded him.

"But we're at the hospital. Weren't you the one who wanted our relationship to be professional around here?" Chase lied down and turned his back on the older man. For once, he was acting extraordinarily grumpy.

"You're still mad at me." House sighed. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. I could waste my time apologizing to you again, or I could spend my time treating you instead. It's up to you."

"How typical of you," Chase muttered quietly, "you see depression as an illness that can be treated just like any other illness and then it'll just go away all on its own…"

House didn't know what to say. What on earth had he done to offend the Wombat this time? All he had said was that he was suffering from a trauma and not a physical disease. Was that so wrong?

"You're not happy," House touched Chase's shoulder, softly, "I'm sure you have good reason to feel upset and I'm sure that you've been through something heart-breaking in your past that I don't understand. But we can't ignore it anymore, Robert. You're under too much stress and it's killing you. I can't stand to see you in pain and not do anything about it. I need to make you feel better, do you hear me? So please tell me how I can help."

Chase was quiet for a moment. House couldn't tell if he was still angry or if he was actually considering this. "Just be there for me, Greg." He then heard him say. "Stop treating me like a patient. I don't need your diagnosis, I just need your support."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

"Chase has an ulcer. And he's suffering from sleep paralysis. I've looked it up." House sat down in front of Wilson's desk, expecting him to put his paperwork aside. Even though he felt pretty confident about his diagnosis, he still needed someone else to confirm it.

"Sleep paralysis?" Wilson repeated and frowned. "Is that an actual condition? It must be something psychological."

"It is." House supressed a sigh. "It can be brought on by many things. For instance if there has been a big change in your life. Or if you're under a lot of stress and have trouble sleeping at night. Or if you're on medication, even. And Chase is going through all those 'ifs' right now. The point is, there is nothing physically wrong with him besides the ulcer that makes him puke blood. It's the stress that is making him ill. It's simple as that."

"Really? Is that what you would call simple?" Wilson shook his head. "It sounds complicated to me."

"What I meant was that the diagnosis is simple," House corrected him, "treatment is probably not. He's the only one who can make it all go away. He needs to let go of his fear and his stress, but that is easier said than done."

"Right." Wilson hesitated for a moment. "And you are sure that this is what it is? I mean, paralysis sounds pretty medical to me."

"He only gets paralysed when he sleeps," House argued, "so it has to do with his sleeping pattern. The nightmares are making his hallucinations worse and more life-like. He can barely tell what is real and what is not. I don't know what exactly his dreams are about, but today it went too far. He had a dream that I died so it obviously means that he's scared of losing someone in his life. I can't let it go on anymore. He's torturing himself because he's grieving and it has to stop."

"So you're saying that the paralysis only happened because he's emotionally scarred? And that it will go away if he gets better?" Wilson raised his eyebrows. "But the question is, why is he grieving? How could the death of one patient that he barely knew torture him like this?"

"It reminds him of something else." House chuckled, but kept a straight face. "His mother died when he was very young and it left him all alone with an absent father. Now his father is dead, too. I'm literally all he has. That crazy lady's death must have triggered some bad memory in him."

"House, if what you're saying is true, you have to be more considerate than this." Wilson warned his friend. "If you are all he has, you can't keep on lying and pranking people. You can't keep doing things that will hurt his feelings."

"Yeah yeah, don't you think I know that already?" House rolled his eyes. "Anyway, this is not about me, it's about what I have just learned. We can make the ulcer go away with antibiotics, but the sleep paralysis and the nightmares take another treatment."

"Maybe he should see a shrink?" Wilson suggested. "I mean, if he is struggling with a depression, he should probably talk to a professional about it."

"That kind of thing takes time," House snorted, "too much time. He's so traumatised that it's making him sick. I can't risk waiting any longer. Other measures will have to do."

"What kind of measures?" Wilson looked worried all of a sudden. "You're not going to do something stupid, are you? House, you're not a professional psychiatrist. You don't know what will make him feel better."

"All I know is that he is not happy." House shrugged. "So I have to make sure that he is."

Wilson huffed. "And how will you do that? Obviously, he can't just forget about the deaths of his parents."

"Or maybe he can. I can make him happy if I make him forget about his problems." House told Wilson straight. "Sometimes forgetting is the best medicine."

"Oh yeah? And how is he supposed to just forget something that pretty much ruined his childhood?" Wilson crossed his arms and looked almost curious.

"He needs to focus on something or someone else besides himself." House got up from the chair and walked towards Wilson's window. "He needs distraction."

"Distraction? So you'll make him focus on something else?" Wilson looked at House as though it was the most absurd idea he'd ever heard. "How will you do that?"

House looked over his shoulder and smiled confidently. "By telling him one last lie." He said easily.

"What?" Wilson blurted out. "House, no!"

"I'll make up a problem that doesn't really exist, but it will work." House assured him. "I will pretend to go through a crisis of my own and he'll end up feeling so sorry for me that he forgets all about his own situation. I know – I'm a genius, right?"

"You're nuts!" Wilson looked offended. "This is going to backfire and you will only make things worse for the two of you."

"I don't care." House said, feeling brutally honest. "I don't want him to suffer anymore. Even if it will bring Chase to hate me, I just want his suffering to be over."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Chase didn't know why he felt so angry at House all of a sudden.

House had made the point that Chase's problems were psychological and that he was still in good health physically – if it hadn't been for the ulcer, of course. But that didn't make Chase feel better, it only made him feel insane. All he wanted to do was tell House that he wasn't going crazy. But how could he be sure that was even true?

"_If I'm mentally ill, he'll definitely leave me."_ Chase thought to himself as he crawled out of bed. _"I have to convince him that I'm okay. I have to find him."_

A part of him hated the idea of House diagnosing him. What if House was only interested in him now because he had turned into a puzzle that needed to be solved? What if he would lose interest as soon as Chase got better again?

"_I can't be House's patient_," Chase decided, _"I have to get discharged right away. I don't want my own boyfriend to take my case. I have to find him and stop him."_

He found the clothes that he had been wearing when he got admitted, and as soon as he was dressed, he searched the room for a mirror so that he could take a look at himself. He knew that he probably looked pale and tired, but as long as he could convince people that he was all right, it didn't matter.

As he walked out of his room, he noticed that the pain in his stomach was considerably worse than it had been earlier. Perhaps the ulcer really was as nasty as House had described it. He took a few steps down the hallway and suddenly it hit him that he hadn't been eating since he had his stomach pumped. He could feel his legs shaking and he wondered if he even had the energy to walk straight.

He could tell that people gave him funny looks as they walked past him; he probably looked more like a lost patient than a doctor. After taking another few steps, he felt a stinging, sharp pain in his stomach that had him moving closer to the wall so that he could lean against it for support. He held an arm over his stomach and he wondered where to go from here. He was in no shape to search the hallway in order to find House. He might just have the strength to walk back to his room, though, but that wasn't his plan. He still wanted to get discharged so that House wouldn't be able to treat him like his own patient.

He was still leaning against the wall when, unfortunately, Foreman and Cameron walked out of the diagnostics room. They spotted him right away.

"Oh my God, Chase!" Cameron blurted out as soon as she saw him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Foreman demanded as the two of them came towards him.

Chase tried his best to look calm, but it was taking up all his energy. He wondered if he even looked like himself at this point – he hadn't felt this crappy in years.

"Hey," Chase said awkwardly and tried to sound slightly casual, "what are you guys doing here so late? I thought you'd both be home by now."

He noticed that Foreman gave him a funny look, and Cameron said: "Cuddy told us to stay for a few extra hours, she needed help in the clinic. You're not trying to change the subject, are you?"

"Change the subject? What do you mean?" Chase asked her as innocently as he possibly could.

"I asked you where you've been," Foreman reminded him grumpily, "we've been trying to contact you all day, but you never picked up the phone."

"Yeah, how come you never showed up for work?" Cameron joined Foreman and looked at Chase sceptically. It gave him the feeling of being cornered, especially because he could hardly walk away from them.

"Well, I – it's a long story." Chase's couldn't think of anything else to say. "But I'm here now, all right?"

"How can we be sure that everything's okay with you?" Cameron studied him closely. "We never heard from you after the hearing. We almost thought that they had fired you, but then Cuddy told us that you are staying. What's going on, Chase?"

"Nothing's going on," Chase crossed his arms, "I'm fine, Cameron, Cuddy just gave me a day off after the hearing. She thought I could use it."

"A day off?" Foreman repeated. "Do you really expect us to believe that? You were suspended for a week, Chase. The last thing you need is more time at home and Cuddy would know that. I'm starting to think that you didn't show up for work because you couldn't be bothered."

"What? No, it wasn't like that…" Chase barely knew how to defend himself or come up with a story that they would actually believe. It was all so confusing.

"Let me guess, if House had called you this morning and told you to get your ass over here, you would have been here in a second." Foreman chuckled. "But because House couldn't be bothered to make you do your job, you decided to ignore the calls from me and Cameron. Because you knew you would get away with it. Am I right?"

"You know what, Foreman, believe whatever you want." Chase told him sullenly. He was too tired to make excuses this time. "I'll see you guys later."

Chase forced himself to walk away from the team, but his legs were still shaking and he didn't know where to find House.

"Chase, wait! He didn't mean it like that…"

Cameron sounded like she wanted to apologize on Foreman's behalf, but Chase knew that he couldn't go back. If they noticed how he was shaking and sweating, they would know that something was wrong. So he just kept on walking – unfortunately, though, Foreman decided to follow him.

"Chase, hold on a second," Foreman said as he caught up with him, "I didn't mean to pry, but I just think your behaviour was a bit reckless. You were lucky today, but if you ever do it again, House will probably fire you without a single warning."

"Well, thanks for your concern, Foreman, but it's none of your business." Chase didn't even look at his colleague. Instead, he was struggling with the overwhelming pain in his stomach and suddenly, it felt like he was about to black out.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" Foreman blurted out. "I'm just trying to help. But if you really want to jeopardize your precious job…"

But Chase didn't wait for Foreman to finish his sentence – as soon as he saw the men's room, he rushed to the door. He never made it to the toilets, so he ended up hovering over the sink instead. Just as Foreman walked in the door and saw him standing there, he began to cough and throw up blood once again. This time, though, it was much more painful and the taste of blood in his mouth made him feel absolutely sick.

"Oh my God – Chase!" Foreman exclaimed when he saw the blood. "Are you okay?"

Chase coughed helplessly; he wanted to tell Foreman to call House, but he couldn't even stand on his feet any longer. It felt as though the room was spinning and he could hardly see anything or hear the sound of Foreman's voice anymore.

"Chase? Chase, what is happening?" Foreman tried to make contact with the blond, but as he moved closer, Chase let go of the sink and fell backwards. Foreman caught him in the air before his body hit the floor. "Chase, wake up – can you hear me? Wake up!"

When he saw that his Australian colleague had passed out, Foreman lowered the slack body to the ground and rushed to the door.

"Cameron, tell the nurses to get a gurney!" He yelled when he saw her standing outside, looking concerned. "Chase just vomited blood and then he fainted. I think we better page House."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Cameron was watching Chase sleep. As she was standing inside his room, she found his medical file and began to read it. When she read that he had been admitted after what looked like a suicide attempt, she gasped out loud and felt a tear in her eyes. How could she not have known this about her own colleague? Chase had almost died and no one knew – it was horrible.

Cameron thought to herself that she should be there for him until he got better. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him right under her nose. She looked closely at the young man in the big, white bed and she was happy to know that he had made it – that they hadn't lost him after all.

She heard the door being opened and she was very surprised to see House appear behind her.

"House!" She nearly exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

House saw the file in Cameron's hands and he figured that she probably knew everything by now.

"I heard that a very stupid employee of mine tried to commit suicide without giving me his two weeks notice first," House told her as he swung his cane around for comic relief, "and I also heard that the same stupid employee puked blood and passed out in the men's room. So if you haven't figured out yet, I'm here to yell at that jerk."

Cameron knew House well enough to realise that he was joking, but it still angered her. "You can't joke about this," she told him seriously, "he is too fragile to be mocked by you at this point. Why don't you just leave him alone if you don't care that he almost died?"

"Who says I don't care?" House shrugged casually. "Anger is an emotion, hence I care. And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I should wake up my idiotic employee. Do you think it'll help if I whack him with my cane?"

"No, don't!" Cameron cried out outrageously when House moved closer to Chase's bed. It looked like she was on the verge of panicking.

"Relax, woman." House rolled his eyes in order to make fun of her. "You didn't actually believe that I would hit him, did you?"

"Well, I…" Cameron sighed and felt annoyed. "House, I don't think he's strong enough for your pranks. Maybe you shouldn't wake him up. Maybe you should just go."

"Right – and leave him all alone with you?" House snorted. "Yeah, I'm not doing that. I don't trust you. You basically throw yourself at anyone who's just slightly hurt. And now that your handsome, male colleague is eating sleeping pills and puking blood, I'm sure you'll _eat_ him alive!"

"I'm not gonna throw myself at him just because he's hurt," Cameron said grumpily, "I'm here as his friend – he needs someone like me, I hope you know."

"Yeah well, he needs someone like me, too," House insisted, "I'm here to remind him of summer and trees and flowers and everything that's beautiful in life. So if you'll excuse us, I'll wake him up and have a word with him – alone."

Cameron obviously doubted House's words and she didn't know what to do. But then they both heard a weak voice:

"It's okay, Cameron… House can talk to me if he wants."

"Chase, you're awake!" Cameron smiled down at the Australian who was now blinking tiredly, trying to get used to the light. "How are you feeling? You look pale…"

"All right, all right, you said you wouldn't make a fuss," House reminded her as he began to push her away from Chase's bedside, impatiently, "you can mother him later if you want, but I'll have my talk with my employee first!"

Cameron left the room voluntarily, but she felt very confused. Why was House acting so desperate to talk to Chase all of a sudden? She was certain that the two men didn't even like each other and that Chase would rather be comforted by someone else – someone who wouldn't mock him for being hospitalised.

As soon as she had disappeared, House closed the door and the blinds so that no one would see what he was about to do.

"I'm so sorry, baby," House whispered and hovered over Chase, "I didn't know you would get worse this quickly." He didn't wait for Chase to reply; he leaned in and kissed the kid's lips tenderly. "I heard that you passed out in front of Foreman and that he had to carry you until he found a gurney. Are you okay?"

House kissed him again and Chase seemed surprised by House's slightly emotional gesture.

"I'm all right, I think." The young doctor whispered, feeling pathetic and embarrassed by himself. "Thanks, Greg. I'm really glad you're here. I'm sorry for not listening to you earlier. You were probably right about my diagnosis."

"Oh yeah? What makes you say that?" House smirked teasingly. "Did you realise that I'm always right?"

Chase smiled lightly. "The stomach pains got worse because I felt pressured. So it must be psychological." He admitted. "You _were_ right."

House should have felt satisfied to hear this, but he didn't. "You're really not getting better, are you, baby?" He asked the younger man in a concerned voice. "You're only getting worse."

Chase sighed. "Maybe the antibiotics will work. Maybe I'll feel better when I get to leave the hospital."

"Maybe." House whispered. _"But maybe isn't good enough."_ He then thought to himself.

He suddenly decided what to do. Even if Wilson had advised him against it, it was all he could think of at this point.

He needed to make Chase forget about his problems. He needed to distract him – even if he had to distract him with a lie. He knew that this was wrong and immoral, but it didn't matter. His Wombat was suffering… It had to end.

"Greg?" Chase frowned and reached out for House's hand. "You look like you have something on your mind. Are you okay?"

House hesitated for a second or two. But then he noticed Chase's sudden concern for him, and that alone made the kid seem stronger already. If feeling concerned for someone else was going to make Chase feel better, House knew there was only one solution.

"Actually, I have to tell you something." House took in a deep breath. "I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but I think this is something you need to hear."

"What is it?" Chase's eyes lit up and his cheeks gained colour in a matter of seconds. "What's wrong, Greg? Did something happen?"

"Yeah. Something did happen." House exhaled heavily and tried to sound saddened. "I got a call from my mother earlier. Apparently, my dad died. I didn't even know that he was sick."

"Oh my God," Chase whispered and used all his strength to sit up in the bed, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"Neither did I." House muttered – this was his way of staying in character. "But it's okay. I'll be fine. I just feel so shocked…"

"Come here," Chase said and tried to pull him in for a hug, "I promise that I'm gonna be there for you. For as long as you need it."

"Thanks, kiddo. I knew I could count on you."

House embraced Chase. His plan was working already; Chase was slowly forgetting about his own problems and his own illness. He could tell that the kid held on to him as though he expected him to fall apart any minute. But this only made House feel guilty as hell.

"Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" Chase whispered close to House's ear. "I'll do anything – you name it."

"Well, I suppose there is one thing," House said after some consideration, "but if it's too much for you right now, I'll understand."

"It won't be too much," Chase assured him eagerly, "what is it, baby?"

"Kiss me." House broke the embrace and looked at Chase, tenderly. "I want us to be happy together again – if you kiss me, I'm sure I can forget about the pain and just be happy. All I want is to be close to you."


	13. Strawberries

Chase was still hospitalised when House pretended to attend to his father's funeral.

House made sure to get a day off from work for "personal reasons" without specifying the meaning of this; he had told Chase that nobody else could know about his father because he didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him or treat him differently. (By anyone, he especially meant Cuddy and that nosey Cameron). But of course, instead of actually going to a funeral that didn't really take place, he spent most of the day with Wilson, getting scolded for making up such horrible lies. It didn't matter, though, because House had at least convinced Wilson to play poker with him in the meantime.

"You're a coward, House," Wilson would tell him over and over again, "you can't keep hiding behind whatever lie you want the people in your life to believe."

"I'm a coward who finally loves and cares about someone," House objected, barely bothered to listen to his old friend, "and as you may know, love makes you do crazy things. So bear with me, please."

"You're not doing this because of love," Wilson snorted, "you're doing this because you have diagnosed Chase's problems to be psychological – and you have no idea how to deal with psychological. So instead you make up some lies so you won't have to face the real problem – that's why you're a coward."

"And _that_, Jimmy, is why you're a killjoy!" House teased him, completely ignoring the fact that the oncologist was probably right.

As House went on to pretend that he was busy grieving, Chase was still dealing with a thing or two back at the hospital. When it came to his ulcer, he knew that the antibiotics were beginning to work, very slowly. He was still in pain every now and then and sometimes, he'd still feel feverish and wake up from bad dreams. But he had to admit one thing – he was beginning to worry less about himself and more about House.

He was surprised to hear House speak about his father's death so openheartedly, especially because he had never really talked about his parents before – only when he wanted to complain about them, at least. Chase felt touched whenever he saw House putting up a brave face around him. He had told House that there was no need to do that; he wanted to be there for him and comfort him when he needed it. He had told House that he was sorry he couldn't go with him to the funeral. He really wanted to, but he had been told that the ulcer would have caused him too many problems and House had ordered him not to take any chances.

"Just stay here and focus on getting better, Wombat," House had said in a serious voice that made Chase feel even more sorry for him, "I'll be fine on my own, I promise."

Chase didn't know how to focus on getting better, knowing that House was going through this personal tragedy. He remembered his own father's death and how it had affected him – it wasn't something he enjoyed to look back on. It had been a painful period of time for him. When his father went away, he knew that he didn't really have any family left and of course, he didn't get to see his old friends back in Australia too often. It was as though his old life and all the people that he had once known didn't exist anymore. It was a very sad realisation to live with.

Having House in his life was the one thing keeping him going after the funeral. And now that the same thing had happened to House, he knew that he needed to be there for his lover as much as he could and offer him all the support he craved.

After all, that's what you do when you love somebody.

Eventually, Chase was told that he could get discharged in a few days. He couldn't wait to be home with House again; he didn't want to spend any more time apart. He was tired of sleeping alone in a hospital bed and now, he knew that he needed to wrap his arms around House at night, making them both feel loved and at peace.

The day before he got discharged, Cameron walked into his room in the middle of her break.

"So I heard that you can go home tomorrow," she said and smiled at him in a way that she had never done before, "I think that's great. It means that you're doing better, right?"

Chase tried to return the smile, but he also knew that she was only being this friendly because she feared that he was suicidal.

"Yeah, it does," he said, "I can't wait to get out of here. I never realised before what it means to be a patient in a place like this." He then joked.

"It gives you a different perspective, doesn't it?" Cameron giggled in a rather girly manner and it made Chase feel very suspicious. "Listen, Chase, there is something that I wanted to ask you. I hope you don't think it's too personal."

"Well, you and Foreman basically saw me puke blood the other day," Chase shrugged his shoulders, "so compared to that, I'm sure your question won't be too personal."

"Good." Cameron stepped forward and sat down on the edge of the hospital bed. "What I wanted to know is – are you happy? In life, I mean."

She looked quite serious when she asked him this; so serious that Chase no longer felt comfortable having this conversation. He didn't want his colleagues to think that he was suicidal and that they had to watch his every move whenever he had had a bad day.

"Look, Cameron, you really don't have to worry about me." Chase smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm doing just fine. I promise you that I won't end up back in this hospital bed. Okay?"

Cameron sighed, then nodded. "If you say so. But can you at least promise me that you will get help if you ever feel crazy and depressed again? I just want to be on the safe side, Chase."

"If it'll make you feel better, I promise." Chase gave her a friendly pad on her shoulder. "I would even call House and ask for his help before I would do anything stupid again. So please don't worry about it anymore."

Cameron crossed her arms and thought about it for a moment. "All right, you've convinced me." She jumped off his bed again. "If you'd be willing to call House first, I'm sure that you actually mean it this time."

"I do," Chase agreed, "and just so you know, I do consider myself very happy. But thank you for asking."

Cameron nodded as to tell him not to mention it. But looking at her Australian colleague who was probably very alone in this part of the world, she wondered what exactly Chase had to be so happy about.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

"It's so great to have you home again, baby." House watched as Chase was standing by the stove, cooking dinner. "I missed having you around, you know? And I missed your cooking, too."

"Let me guess," Chase chuckled, "you've been stealing Wilson's food instead of cooking something for yourself while I was away?"

"Well, you know Wilson. He's a generous soul who doesn't mind sharing." House walked up behind Chase and he slowly wrapped his arms around the kid's waist. "But I still prefer my dinners with you. Because you always remember desert."

Chase grinned and shook his head at House, but the truth was that he loved it when the older man was being silly. He was relieved to see House in such a happy mood. He had feared that he might be depressed or that he would simply keep to himself.

Well, _that_ he certainly didn't do.

House began to pull Chase closer and closer, kissing his neck. At first, the kissing was very innocent but as soon as he began to use his tongue, it had Chase trembling with delight. Chase let himself enjoy this. He tried to keep focus on the stove, but House was too distracting. The older man began to use his hands, and he felt up Chase's stomach and chest thoroughly. As House's thumbs stroke his nipples, Chase had to bite his lip and close his eyes for a second.

"I missed you…" He heard himself whisper and he realised that he probably sounded pathetic.

"Good." House breathed in his ear and pulled him closer once again. "That's all I wanted to know."

House let his hand move upwards. He let his fingertips caress Chase's cheek before forcing the kid to turn his head around – it worked immediately and the older doctor seized his opportunity to lean in and kiss his Wombat. As their lips were pressed against each other's, House wrapped his arm around Chase's body again, slowly trying to drag him away from the stove.

"Wait a minute," Chase panted as he tried to break the kiss, "the chicken will get burned if we keep doing this."

"I don't care." House told him and kissed his neck almost aggressively. "You're more delicious anyway."

Chase giggled. "Greg, you need to eat a proper meal. Come on, it'll only be another ten minutes."

"What if I can't wait that long?" House teased him and snuggled closer, burying his face in Chase's golden locks of hair. "I'm hungry now, you see."

"Yeah, after something else I think." Chase added.

Before he could even resist, House began to pull him further away from the stove and in a mere second, he had turned Chase around so that they were facing each other.

"Better." House lowered his head and looked at his Wombat mischievously. Then he went on to push Chase up against the nearest wall in the kitchen, trapping him completely so that the kissing could continue.

"Greg," Chase tried his best not to laugh, "the food…"

"What about it?" House grabbed a strong hold of the kid's hands in order to pin him further up against the wall.

"It will get burned." Chase could feel himself caving in. "Don't say I didn't warn you…"

"Right." House initiated another kiss like he didn't care. "To hell with it."

The couple kissed each other almost desperately. Chase felt House's tongue invading his mouth, but he did nothing to stop it. He let himself forget about the dinner and about House's change of behaviour. Even if this kind of eagerness seemed slightly out of place, it was still better than having House grieving over his father.

House's breath was so warm against his lips; Chase could feel his own heart beating faster and his knees getting weaker. He had surrendered completely. The feeling of House pressing his body close up against his own had him melting against the wall. He was certain that if House let go of him now, he would simply fall to the floor. He just wanted this warm, happy sensation to last forever. House's kiss was so insistent, so stubborn, but so satisfying and sweet.

It could have been the end of the world and he wouldn't have noticed. Everything felt so good – every problem had ceased to exist. Or at least it felt that way.

"Something smells burned." House whispered all of a sudden. Chase was still so occupied with the kiss that he didn't understand.

"Huh?" He grunted pathetically. He had kept his eyes closed all along, but now he opened them again. He must have looked awfully confused.

"Wake up, Wombat." House grinned teasingly. "I didn't put you in a coma, did I?"

"N-no…" Chase blinked. It didn't feel like waking up from a coma, but perhaps from a trance or a sweet day dream.

"Something smells burned." House repeated. "I bet it's the chicken." He pulled back a little bit and looked at the kid, grinning at him. "Your move."

"Right. Uh…" Chase cleared his throat and freed his hands from House's grasp. "I guess I better save what is left to save of the food."

House backed away from him, pretending to be a perfect gentleman. But as Chase stumbled forward as though he had forgotten how to use his legs, he chuckled devilishly. The kid's hair was all messed up, his cheeks flushed and his eyes full of desire for more – oh, it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen and he most certainly didn't want to leave it at this.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

They ate the food that hadn't been burned in front of the TV, but as they were watching one of House's favourite shows, Chase turned quiet. House noticed his pensive expression and he got worried that Chase was thinking about Laura Hamilton and the hearing again. It was exactly that kind of thing that they needed to avoid if they wanted Chase's ulcer to heal.

He knew that he needed to distract the kid again and make him think about something else.

"You know… This show reminds me of something." House said cunningly, making sure that he had the kid's attention. "My father never told me that he loved me or anything."

Chase was obviously taken aback. "How does this show remind you of that? It's a comedy."

"I know, but comedies are always partly tragic when you think about it, aren't they?" House faked a sad smile and he could tell that this had Chase forgetting about whatever problem that was bothering him just seconds ago.

"Greg, I'm sorry you didn't get to say goodbye to your dad." Chase put away his dinner plate even though he hadn't finished. "I'm sure that he would have expressed his feelings for you if he had had a chance."

Chase was pretty careful when he snuggled closer to the older man on the couch. He let his hand rest on House's knee – a way of showing support, probably.

"Thanks." House was still trying his best to seem saddened. "It just hurts when I think about it. Me and my dad never really understood each other. He probably died thinking that I hated him."

"Don't say that," Chase whispered, "of course you didn't hate him."

House shrugged. "Does it matter now? He's dead and it's all too late. I don't know if I will ever forgive myself for ignoring his calls and picking all those fights with him."

"You have to forgive yourself. Otherwise the pain won't go away." Chase snuggled closer again and took House's hand in his own. "I think we need to talk about this some more, Greg. You seem really upset."

House shook his head melodramatically. "No, I'm fine."

"You're not." Chase insisted. "I can tell how bothered you are by this. Come on, baby, I must be able to help you in some way. Just tell me what to do."

House pretended to think about this for a moment. "Well, there might be one thing you can do."

"Anything." Chase said and squeezed his hand lightly.

"You can help me forget about it."

"What?" Chase looked into House's eyes. He wasn't sure if he was serious or not. "No, Greg. You can't just forget about it like that. You're blaming yourself for things that you shouldn't…"

"Yeah, yeah," House interrupted him, "I know all that. But the thing is, it still hurts too much. I don't think I can keep talking about it. Please, baby, can't you just help me forget? Can't you help me feel happy again?"

Chase supressed a sigh. "Well, if that's what you really want." He surrendered. "But what do you want me to do?"

House smiled playfully and kissed the kid's cheek. "I want you to follow me into the bedroom. When we're in there together, I'm never unhappy."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House was amused. Chase believed that he was doing this because House needed to be cheered up, but really, this was all for Chase's own sake. He was the one who needed this special treatment and he had no idea.

"It's time for desert." House said as he opened the bedroom closet. "And trust me, gorgeous, I'm still pretty hungry for more."

Chase couldn't help but to smile and feel amused by House's behaviour. "What are you looking for in there?" He kept his eyes on the closet that House was rummaging through.

"These." House said, holding up a pair of Chase's ties. "I think they will come in handy."

Chase raised his eyebrows. "My ties? What on earth do you need them for?"

"Like I said," House smirked, "it's time for desert."

He closed the closet and turned towards his Wombat. House couldn't help but to think that Chase looked better and better every day.

"I'm just going to ask you one last time," Chase said as he caught House staring at him, "are you sure that this is what you really want to do right now?"

Easy question. House knew he wanted it, but it wasn't just about his own desire. Chase needed it, even if he didn't realise it himself. He needed to feel pleasure and to smile and be happy again – he and House needed the intimacy so that he could be reminded that he wasn't alone.

"Yes I'm sure." House stepped forward and kissed the younger man's lips. "I love you, baby."

And then House threw him down on the bed. Before Chase had a chance to struggle, House threw himself down on top of him, once again bringing their bodies as close together as possible.

"You sneaky bastard…" Chase giggled, but was immediately silenced by House's kiss.

"We both know you don't want me to stop." House breathed against his lips, in a much taunting manner.

Chase wanted to tell House not to be so cocky, but then he reminded himself that House was in a difficult place and probably needed confirmation more than anything; in other words, this was not the time for playing hard to get.

"All right, show me what you've got." Chase kissed his lover back and wrapped his arms around House's neck. He intended to enjoy this all the way.

"That's the spirit." House grinned. "But first…"

He unbuttoned Chase's shirt eagerly, practically ripping it open when he lost his patience.

"Whoa, take it easy." Chase propped himself up on his elbows so that it would be easier for House to tear the rest of the shirt off him. "What's the rush?"

"I just can't wait to get my piece of sugar," House joked, "got a problem with that?"

Chase initiated another kiss and that answered the question. But when the Wombat tried to remove the older man's shirt, too, House quickly grabbed a hold of his hands in order to stop him.

"Nah-ah, not so fast." House changed his position so that he was sitting on top of the Australian. It was putting a lot of pressure on his leg, but he didn't care. He had, naturally, remembered to take his Vicodin. "I'm setting the pace, kiddo. After all, I'm better at taking the lead than you are, don't you think?"

"Fine." Chase rolled his eyes at him. "I guess I was wrong when I thought I was supposed to participate in this."

"Wait your turn." Was all House said.

He reached out for the ties on the night stand. Chase watched his every move and House could tell that he knew exactly what he was going to use them for. And as it turned out, Chase didn't even object when House used them to tie his hands to the headboard.

"There. You're all mine." House bowed down and kissed Chase possessively. "By the way, I should buy you some new ties after this."

"Why? Are you gonna rip these, too?" Chase asked him.

"No. I just think they are the ugliest colour I've ever seen."

Chase pretended to take offense by this, but it didn't matter to House. He thought to himself that this was the hottest thing he'd ever witnessed. Having Chase tied down to the headboard was a dream come true.

"There's something else we need." House whispered as he kissed Chase's neck and watched the goose bumps appear all over his tanned skin.

Chase closed his eyes as he felt House's warm lips caressing his sensitive skin. "What is that?" His voice was filled with curiosity.

"You'll see." House smiled devilishly. "I'll be back in a minute. Don't move, okay?"

"Very funny!" Chase huffed and smiled at the same time.

House went back into the kitchen and while he was away, Chase couldn't help but to feel slightly nervous. He knew that there was nothing to fear, but now that he was tied down to the bed, it only reminded him of his sleepless nights and the paralyses that he had experienced. It was the idea of not being able to move – or escape – that made him feel panicky.

He knew that he was safe with House, but he still would have liked to be in control of his own body.

House returned, with a sneaky smile on his face.

"Wait, what is that?" Chase blurted out when he saw what House was now carrying in his hands. "Is that whipped cream?"

"It's _canned_ whipped cream," House corrected him, "and a bowl of fresh strawberries."

Chase frowned. "What do you need that for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" House took off his own shirt before crawling back in bed. "I need it for my desert."

He mounted Chase again, and without further hesitation, he picked one of the biggest strawberries and held it up to the kid's lips.

"Bite this," House instructed him confidently, "but don't eat it, okay? You're just holding it for me."

Chase wanted to laugh at this, but instead he just opened his mouth and House placed the strawberry in between his parted lips.

"Wonderful." House kissed his cheek with a loud smack. "You look great, baby."

He went on to shake the can of whipped cream before spraying some of it out on Chase's naked chest. As House began to spread the white mass all over the kid's abdominal and stomach, Chase trembled lightly.

"You okay?" House asked him casually, rubbing the whipped cream on his hard nipples.

"It's just… cold." Chase found it hard to speak without dropping the strawberry out of his mouth. "_Really_ cold."

"I know." House chuckled. "Let me warm things up for you then."

The older man hovered over the Australian and without preparing Chase for what was going to happen, House began to lick the cream right off his stomach. Chase's entire body tremored immediately, making it look like he had a spasm. When House used his tongue to lick him all the way from the bellybutton to his nipple, Chase squirmed helplessly even though he tried his hardest to lie perfectly still.

"Let me guess – you're ticklish, right?" House teased him. "Even better!"

Chase wanted to say something, but all he could do was close his eyes and try to regain control of his own motions. House knew all his sensitive spots and he certainly took advantage of this; he licked his young lover mercilessly from the one nipple to the other, and then he moved downwards towards the bellybutton again. Chase shivered and felt the goose bumps appear all the way down his arms. But in a way, it was the most pleasurable thing he had ever felt. House's tongue was warm, his touches gentle, and every time Chase felt the older man's hot breath ghosting over his naked skin, it felt like time itself had ceased to exist. He had never before in his life experienced anything this sensual.

House licked him across the chest and continued all the way up to his throat. Chase could feel himself clenching his fists helplessly when House nibbled at his skin, biting him as carefully as he possibly could. Chase never felt any real pain; it was more like a sweet, stinging sensation. He didn't want it to stop. House kissed his neck as he moved away from the throat, and finally, his lips sought Chase's. In a rapid, swift movement House stole the strawberry out of Chase's mouth.

House made sure to bite the strawberry hard before eating it, and it pleased him to see that some of the juice spilled and landed on Chase's jaw.

"Do you want a taste, baby?" House took one of the smaller strawberries from the bowl and rolled it down Chase's ribs, making sure that it was covered in whipped cream. "Here."

Chase opened up his mouth once again and House fed him the strawberry. House let his finger trail over the kid's stomach, absorbing some more of the whipped cream and then he spread it across the young man's lips. Before Chase had a chance to lick it off, House pressed their lips together in a hot, passionate kiss, smudging the cream all over his own face as well.

Chase sighed sweetly, feeling more than content. As they broke the kiss, House reached out for a tissue on the nightstand. He wiped the remaining cream off their faces, but made sure to use his tongue to lick away the strawberry juice that was now running down Chase's neck.

"I've never felt so greasy in my life…" Chase muttered smilingly, and this had House laughing.

"We should do this more often." The older man joked and ran a hand through his Wombat's hair. "God, you're delicious. I could just eat you up!"

House continued to lick Chase's skin until most of the whipped cream had disappeared. He finished his little act with sucking a strawberry out of the kid's bellybutton, and he felt pretty romantic for having planned this whole thing.

"So," House remarked as he unzipped his own pants slowly, "you look like you have died and gone to Heaven."

Chase laughed happily. "Almost. At least I feel like I might be close."

House smirked; he felt pretty satisfied to know that his plan had worked. Chase looked completely relaxed, as though he didn't have a care in the world.

"Does that mean you want to return the favour?" House took off his pants and his underwear as well. "I mean, what I just did for you must have been pretty damn good. Am I right?"

"Oh yeah," Chase muttered quietly, sounding almost sleepy, "it really was."

House didn't notice how drowsy Chase seemed all of a sudden. He was too busy fooling around with the canned whipped cream.

"All right, I guess you've waited long enough, Wombat. I'll let you have your turn with me now." House sprayed some of the white cream on the very tip of his own erect penis. "I hope you still have some appetite left. Robbie? Did you hear what I said? I said I hope you…"

But before House could finish his sentence, Chase began to cough violently. House turned around on the spot and he found the young man wriggling in the bed, struggling to free his hands from the headboard. House rushed to his side instantly; as the coughing got worse, House knew that Chase was choking.

"Robbie!" He blurted out. "What happened? Did you get something stuck in your throat?"

Chase gasped and wheezed desperately, but he still couldn't breathe. "N-no…" He whispered pitifully. "It's the strawberries…"

"What? The strawberries?" House didn't understand a word of this. "What's wrong with the strawberries?"

Chase just kept on gasping and throwing his head back. House realised that if he didn't do something soon, the kid would pass out due to the lack of oxygen.

"I need my – my…" Chase could barely finish the sentence. The coughing only got worse.

"What? You need your what?" House hated to admit it, but his hands were shaking now. He would have liked to think that he of all people knew how to stay calm in a situation like this. "Tell me – what is it that you need?" He tried again, feeling oddly desperate.

"My Epi... Pen…" Chase wheezed helplessly. "It's… in my… messenger bag…"

House froze for a second. "Are you telling me that you're allergic to strawberries?!" He exclaimed accusingly. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that? I just _fed_ you strawberries, you moron! Now I need to call an ambulance…"

"No…" Chase arched his back as though he was in pain. "No… I don't want to be… hospitalised again. Just give me… the EpiPen…"

Chase panted and threw his head back again. He couldn't speak another word, and so House rushed out of the room in order to find his messenger bag and forgot all about freeing the kid's hands from the headboard.

House searched through both the kitchen and the living room before finding the messenger bag in the closet in the hallway. He opened the bag and held it upside down so that all of Chase's papers and files fell out of it and landed on the floor – including the EpiPen, thank God.

House felt a sharp pain in his thigh as he hurried back into the bedroom, but he ignored it. Chase had bigger problems. Without even finding the time to pull down Chase's pants, House implanted the EpiPen in Chase's thigh – he immediately heard the kid gasp out in pain. But at least that meant he was still conscious.

"It's okay, you'll be just fine." House told him as he tried to make him calm down. "Try to take some easy breaths, baby."

House hovered over Chase's motionless body so that he could finally untie his hands. (The knots were bound too tightly, he realised). As he noticed that Chase's eyes were closed, House slapped his cheeks carefully. Luckily, Chase gasped again and this time, he was able to take in short breaths of air. After breathing in and out a couple of times, he regained full consciousness.

"You're okay," House told him again and finally, he managed to untie both of his hands, "you're okay, Robbie. Just breathe in and out for a while."

House lied down on the bed so that he could pull the younger man close and hold him in his arms. Chase was still too exhausted to speak, so they both just lied there in silence.

_Damn it,_ House thought to himself and sighed quietly, _we were so close._

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

An hour later, they were still lying in bed, side by side, not talking. Chase still sounded asthmatic whenever he took in a deep breath and his body was still trembling from exhaustion.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered all of a sudden, and House nearly started; he hadn't expected Chase to say anything at all.

"Don't apologize." House sighed tiredly and wrapped his arm around him again. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Chase hesitated. For some reason, it all felt really awkward. There were still leftovers from the whipped cream on his chest. He knew that House had expected to get something more out of this little experiment and he felt sad to have ruined it.

"Good." House's voice was fairly emotionless.

"Look, Greg…" Chase propped himself up on his elbows – luckily, he had regained enough strength for this. "I really _do_ have to apologize. I should have told you that I was allergic to strawberries. This was my own fault and I'm sorry that I scared you like this."

House exhaled heavily. "Well… Why didn't you tell me you were allergic? I told you to bite the strawberry for me and I even let the strawberry juice run down your jaw. It could have killed you!"

"Don't say that." Chase noticed that House was looking away from him, probably feeling guilty. "I have been told that I can eat a strawberry or two without getting sick. So I thought it would be okay. But for some reason, I just got sick anyway. It was my own fault for taking the chance."

"But I feel like an idiot now." House objected. "You never would have eaten the damn strawberry if I hadn't brought it to your mouth. You really should have told me."

"I know. I'm sorry." Chase snuggled close enough to kiss House on the shoulder. "I promise I'll never be this stupid again."

"Good." House still seemed pretty unsatisfied. "But I still don't understand why you couldn't just tell me you were allergic. Were you afraid that you might disappoint me or something?"

Chase hesitated. The truth was that he _had_ been scared to disappoint House. He had seemed so eager and happy and Chase would have hated himself for ruining the good mood.

"I just wanted to go along with it." Chase answered him. "We were having such a good time and I didn't want to ruin it by making a big deal out of the strawberries."

"You moron." House finally looked at him – it seemed like he had him figured out. "You just didn't want to say no to me. Maybe you thought it would upset me because I've been more sensitive since my dad died. But you can't just go along with everything I say just because you don't want to disappoint me – especially not if it will make you sick."

Chase nodded. "You're right. I won't do it again. Please, Greg, don't be mad at me. We were having such a great time and now we're just lying here."

"Actually I should take you to the hospital." House said. "I should have called an ambulance as soon as you ate that strawberry."

"No, forget about the hospital. I'm fine." Chase snuggled closer in order to prove his point. "Besides, Cuddy will just think I tried to kill myself again and I don't want to make a scene."

"Are you sure?" House sounded pretty sceptical. "I don't want you to get another attack in your sleep."

"Yes, I'm sure." Chase leaned in and kissed House's lips. "Besides, who said anything about going to sleep? We never got to finish what we started."

House couldn't help but to chuckle sarcastically. "You're kidding me, right? You don't expect us to have sex after what just happened, do you?"

"Why not?" Chase shrugged and kissed House's lips again. "Or we could start somewhere else. We could have a nice, hot shower together. We're both still covered in whipped cream."

"Yeah." House laughed as he looked down at Chase's greasy chest and stomach. "I guess we are."

It was good to see House smile again. Chase climbed out of the bed, feeling much stronger already. He reached out his hand for House to take it.

"Come on then. Have a shower with me, baby."

Chase's smile was so cute that House simply couldn't resist. He decided to finally give up and quit acting so miffed. He didn't want to feel upset anymore.

"All right." He said. "But you have to promise me that you will be more careful in the future. You can't say yes to everything just because you feel sorry for me. I want you to be safe with me, do you understand?"

"I _am_ safe with you." Chase convinced him.

"Good." House seemed to relax a little bit. "Because I still want us to enjoy each other's company and be happy together. And have sex too, I guess. If you're up for it, that is?"

"Of course I am." Chase pulled House up from the bed as he finally took his hand in his. House's thigh was beginning to feel sore, so he was grateful for the support. "I promise that I won't spoil the fun next time. I enjoyed this so much. I just want to be close to you again, Greg."

"Me too." House kissed Chase's cheek as he got back on his feet. "And we'll continue to have lots of fun together, I swear. Now, Wombat, let all the sex begin!"


	14. Sex

Chase didn't find it too hard to go back to work. He knew that his days would be long and busy, and that it would be difficult for him to take his medicine without Foreman and Cameron watching, but he thought to himself that everything was going to be just fine. He didn't feel too nervous anymore. He felt relaxed.

And it was all because of House, he believed.

House would practically exhaust him every single night. He would lure Chase into the bedroom, pretending to be tired even though they both knew what was going to happen in there. House would tear off Chase's clothes, push him down on the mattress and then mount him in all kinds of ways. Every single night, the couple seemed to find a new position; sometimes House would let Chase ride him – and sometimes he would rather tie the kid down to the headboard again so that he could thrust into him all he wanted. And finally, when both of them felt more than satisfied, House would wrap his arms around Chase so tightly that there was no question that he was safe with him. Lying in bed so close to House, sometimes nose to nose, felt so wonderful that Chase could finally go to sleep without worrying about his nightmares. And the more physically exhausted and happy he felt when he fell asleep, the less dangerous his dreams appeared.

The morning that Chase was supposed to go back to work, House woke him up early.

House had been awake for a while, which of course wasn't like him. But he had spent his time lying there in bed, watching the young man sleeping beside him. And he felt free to admire him in the silence; Chase would only change his position quietly every now and then.

This morning, Chase was lying on his stomach, almost hugging the pillow beneath his head. He was slightly curled up, looking as innocent and fragile as a child. The blond strands of hair looked softer than ever as they touched the pillow lightly and House had to stop himself from reaching out his hand in order to touch him. Chase looked angelic to him; his face was relaxed and he seemed more than peaceful. It was as though he didn't have a care in the world and House preferred it this way.

He finally gave up on fighting his urge and so he reached out his hand. He ran a finger down Chase's cheek, appreciating the smooth skin and all the pretty features. This gesture had Chase making a small sound in his sleep and, immediately after having felt House's touch, Chase hugged his pillow even tighter and buried his face in it. House thought it was the cutest thing he'd witnessed in a long time.

"Oh yeah, I forgot how ticklish you are." House whispered softly without waking the younger man up.

His gaze moved further down as he admired his lover's naked back. Once again, Chase's skin seemed so soft, so golden brown and oh so touchable. House wanted to bite his skin all the way from the shoulders and down to the perfectly shaped butt cheeks that were barely covered by the blankets. He thought that looking at Chase's naked body without being able to touch it might just drive him insane; it was way too tempting to wake up the Wombat or simply jump him while he was still asleep. He wondered how Chase might react if he did…

House ran his finger down the kid's spine, still finding himself unable to keep his hands to himself. Chase moved again as though he was shying away from House's touch without even realising it – and it had House chuckling gently. Chase sighed sweetly – he never really snored during his sleep, but instead he often made small sounds as though he was moaning or grunting. House had never admitted it to him, but every time he heard the kid make these noises, it reminded him of some of their activities together in bed and it excited him to a great extent.

Yeah – this time, he was definitely getting a boner. Whether it was looking at Chase's naked back or hearing his unconscious sighs, House didn't know. All he knew was that he was feeling frisky and only one thing could cure that.

"Wake up, you little sleepyhead." House climbed on top of the younger man's back and wrapped his arms around him, and Chase woke up so abruptly that he jolted. He seemed pretty choked to find that House was on top of him like this; he had been in the middle of a dream just a few seconds ago.

"Greg? What are you doing?" Chase muttered sleepily, trying to bury his face in his pillow again. "It's way too early for this…"

"No it's not." House bit the younger man's shoulder and Chase flinched again. "You're going back to work today and I'm just trying to wake you up so you can get ready."

"Mph…" Chase took a look at the alarm clock on his nightstand. "But I don't have to get up for another thirty minutes. It's only six o'clock."

"Okay," House sighed impatiently, "but here's the thing; if you sleep for another thirty minutes, we won't have time for anything else."

"Anything else?" Chase frowned. "What would that be?"

House grinned evilly; he had decided that it was time to let the Australian know about his throbbing hard erection. He swiftly removed the blankets between them before rubbing his pelvis against Chase's naked back, rubbing harder and harder and moving further down at the same time.

"You really don't know where I'm going with this?" House whispered in his ear whilst throwing his arms around the kid's body again.

If Chase had felt sleepy just a moment ago, he certainly felt awoken right now. He had opened his eyes the minute that he felt House's erection and now he kept them open, feeling alert and unsure of what was going to happen next.

"Greg," Chase barely knew what to say, "are you sure that now is such a good time?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure." House brought his lips down to Chase's neck and he began sucking at the soft, smooth skin. He knew he'd leave a hickey there. "I need you right now, baby."

Chase didn't want to admit it, but he was still feeling kind of sore from last night. He wondered if he should say something, but then he thought about it. House said he needed him, and perhaps this meant that he was feeling down again and needed some sort of comfort – physical comfort, that was. And the more he thought about it, he could really use it too. He was nervous about going back to work and it would be pretty great if he could find some way to calm his nerves. (He thought that maybe a talk would have been better, but sex was definitely better than nothing).

"All right," he heard himself say, "but we better make it quick, because I need to shower as well." Chase knew that this was just some lame excuse to cover up the fact that he was feeling much too sore to let House go on for as long as he wanted, but House didn't seem to suspect a thing.

And so House forced himself inside him immediately, without giving further warning. Chase couldn't prevent himself from gasping and this only excited House even more.

"You know, Robbie, you truly give me a reason to wake up in the morning." House grunted happily as he began to thrust. "I don't know what I would do without you, pumpkin."

Chase smiled at the new nickname, but was somewhat unable to reply. House never managed to find a steady rhythm, but kept on thrusting randomly, forcefully, and excitedly – as House was moving in and out of him, almost teasingly, Chase had to clench his fists and bite his lip. Otherwise he would have kept on gasping and perhaps, House would have gotten the idea that he wasn't just feeling a pure pleasure, but a slight pain as well.

Oh, but he loved House so much. It was worth every sting he felt. Besides, he knew that the pleasure would end up overshadowing the pain after a while. And he was right; even though this was basically House pounding his ass instead of making love to him, he still ended up moaning uncontrollably and making unintelligible noises as House hit that magical spot. And everything ended up feeling so good that he was practically seeing stars for a second or two.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

They drove off to the hospital together. House kissed Chase discretely before leaving the car. He went inside first, then Chase followed about five minutes later.

Chase walked into the diagnostics room and he was immediately greeted by Cameron who stood up from her chair as soon as she saw him.

"Chase, you're back!" She said as she gave him a rather friendly hug. "It's good to see that you're doing better."

Chase noted that Foreman rolled his eyes at Cameron's change of behaviour; the only time she was this soft and welcoming was when someone had had an accident or had been through something bad.

"There's no reason to squeeze him like that, Cameron," Foreman sighed, "besides, you could easily make his ulcer hurt if it hasn't healed yet."

"Oh…" Cameron backed away instantly. "Right, I didn't even think of that."

"It's okay," Chase told her and shrugged, "no harm done. But thank you."

Chase spotted House inside his office, on the other side of the glass wall. He sat down at the table as he tried to look away from their boss.

"Here you go. We've got a new case." Foreman never really said anything to welcome Chase back. Instead he handed him a copy of a patient's file – that was his way of saying that it was good to have him back.

"Thanks." Chase took the file and began to read it carefully. "When was this patient brought in?" He then asked.

Before Foreman had a chance to answer him, House walked in the door and all three of them looked up.

"I see that you're late on your first day back." House's voice was totally emotionless – Chase thought that it was impressive. "Next time you're late, you might as well just stay away."

"He's not late," Foreman butted in, sounding slightly outraged, "all we've done so far is make coffee!"

"I came in earlier than him," House argued as he popped a few Vicodin, "ergo he's late. End of discussion."

Cameron gave House one of her mean looks. "Back off, House. You only came in five minutes earlier than him. Usually you're the one who's more than late." She pointed out. "Sometimes we're talking hours."

"But I'm the boss," House smirked, "so I'm allowed to be late. Now, you have all tired me with your new standing-up-for-each-other idea. I need to go bother your uncle Wilson for a while."

"But House, we were just going to discuss the…"

Foreman was interrupted by House's final remark as he walked out of the room without looking back: "Work harder for me, my little minions. Work harder and quit defending each other before I get tired of you all!"

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Wilson listened patiently as House told him about Chase's incident with the strawberries.

"He ate the strawberry even though it could have killed him. He did it because he didn't want to disappoint me." House complained, balancing the cane in his hands. "He said that he did it because we were having such a great time when I licked the whipped cream off him and he didn't want to ruin it. But I know he's just scared to tell me no."

Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose. "First of all, thank you for spilling all the details about what you were doing, but I really don't need to know…"

"We're having sex constantly these days," House continued, having decided to ignore his friend, "I keep suggesting a new position, he keeps agreeing to do it. We've done it so many times now that I know he must be too sore to enjoy it…"

"House!" Wilson exclaimed and he sounded almost panicky. "Please stop! Too much information!"

"…but he still won't say no to me." House went on. "At first I knew that he was enjoying it as much as me, but now I think that he's only having all this sex with me because he feels sorry about my dad. He's scared of rejecting me because he thinks that I'm hurt."

Wilson sighed loudly and he finally gave up on telling House to keep the details to himself. "You're not the one who's hurt," he said, "in fact, Chase is. You said that you would do this to make him feel better and make him forget about his problems. But maybe you're not helping after all, House. Maybe you're only making it worse."

"No." House shook his head stubbornly. "His ulcer is better already and he no longer has nightmares. My plan is working."

"Then what is the problem?" Wilson asked him.

"The problem is that he is willing to hurt himself in order to make me happy." House looked down in the floor and if Wilson hadn't known him so well, he could have sworn that he looked ashamed of himself. "I don't want that. I don't want him to say yes to things that could be dangerous for him. Like eating strawberries. I don't understand how he could be so stupid."

"It is pretty stupid." Wilson agreed. "But so is your lie. House, you lied about your own father's death. You can't be surprised that this kind of thing has consequences…"

"But I thought _I_ would be the one suffering from the consequences. But instead, it's Chase." House could feel his own frustration building up. "He eats strawberries to please me even though he's allergic. He keeps having sex with me even though it's driving him exhausted. And this morning, he made me pancakes even though he hates cooking when it's this early. _And_ he made us both peanut-butter sandwiches to bring for lunch. He _hates_ peanut-butter, I swear it's the first time that he has ever bought it…"

"So does this mean you won't steal my lunch today?" Wilson remarked hopefully.

"Don't be ridiculous." House rejected the idea right away.

Wilson frowned. "All right, but look at it this way. He probably just bought the peanut-butter because he knows you like it and he wanted to give it a second chance. That seems like a very innocent thing to do. Unless he's allergic to peanut-butter, too?"

House huffed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was. I mean, he never told me about the strawberries either."

"Look, House, I know that he scared you when he had that allergic reaction. He really should have been honest with you, but you need to forgive him." Wilson was meeting with a patient in less than seven minutes, so he decided that he should get to the point so that House could finally be satisfied and leave his office. "If Chase says yes to more sex than he's willing to, it's his own fault. He should be smart enough to stand up for himself and not be pushed around. But you better tell him the truth about your father as soon as you can. Especially because he's worrying about you for no reason and that isn't fair to him."

House knew that the oncologist was right, but he was barely willing to admit this to himself. "But what if he won't forgive me for having lied to him?" House's voice was surprisingly humble; there wasn't even the slightest hint of sarcasm. "If my lie means the end of our relationship, I will never be ready to tell him the truth. Never."

"I know." Wilson's voice was more sympathetic now. "But sometimes you don't have a choice."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House walked out of Wilson's office looking unusually worried. Unfortunately, though, he had no idea that his young lover was standing outside, waiting for him.

"Greg," Chase said as soon as he saw the older doctor, "is everything okay? You look so serious."

House looked up, feeling slightly startled. "Doctor Chase," he muttered formally, "what have I told you about not using my first name when we're at the hospital?"

"Come on," Chase grinned serenely, "there's no one around in the hall. We're alone."

"Yeah well, you never know around here." House added and it made him seem utterly paranoid.

Chase wanted to tell him to relax. But instead he said: "Why won't you tell me what's wrong? I can see that you're bothered about something, Gre – _doctor_ _House_."

House had to supress a sigh. "Nothing is wrong, it's just… Uh, I… Well, Wilson and I were just talking about my dad's funeral and it got me thinking about it. That's all."

Chase nodded sympathetically. "I understand. If you want, I know just how to make you forget about it. We could go back to your office, just the two of us." He then suggested.

Oh, House knew that sweet smile and that look in the kid's eyes a little too well. He couldn't help but to smirk. "Oh yeah? And what makes you think that we could pull it off, doctor Chase?" House's voice sounded much happier already. "Where are duckling number one and two?"

"Foreman went to check out the patient's apartment, and Cameron is running some tests in the lab which should take her at least an hour." When House raised his eyebrows in surprise, Chase added: "I know what you're thinking, but I offered to help out in the lab. Cameron just told me to find you instead. I think she's worried that I'm not really ready to go back to work."

House snorted. "Oh yeah, I forgot that she's mothering you now instead of me. It's nice for a change, isn't it?" Before Chase could come up with a response, House prodded him with his cane playfully. "All right, you convinced me, Wombat. Take me to my office. Let's not waste another second."

They both snuck into House's office without meeting anyone they knew in the hallway. As soon as the door had been locked behind them, House forgot about his worries – they were as good as non-existing.

"First thing's first," Chase said and gave House a soft kiss on the lips, "before we start anything, I want to make sure that you wouldn't rather talk to me. I know I've asked you before, but I just thought that you might need it after all."

"Talk?" House repeated as though he hadn't heard him right. "Uh no, that's really okay. I'd rather do other things if you know what I mean."

House stepped forward and leaned in, ready to kiss the young man back, but Chase backed away from him before their lips could meet again.

"I'm serious, Greg. I'm worried about you." Chase walked over to House's desk and sat down in his chair. "I know you said you wanted to forget about your father, but I'm not sure that we should just ignore the subject forever. I'm offering you the chance to have a talk about it before Foreman and Cameron come back. Are you gonna take it?"

Chase picked up House's ball from the desk and threw it in his direction. House caught it in the air, feeling slightly stunned.

"Look at you, all confident and sitting in my chair," House grinned, "I have to admit that it's an image I quite like."

"Don't change the subject." Chase smiled and leaned back. "I asked you something."

"I know you did." House threw the ball back into Chase's hands. "I just chose to ignore it."

House approached his young employee slowly and when Chase did nothing to stop him this time, he grabbed a hold of both armrests of the chair, firmly holding it in place, and bent forward, pressing their lips together stubbornly. This time, he realised in triumph, Chase couldn't back away from him again.

"Mph – House…" Chase had expected to at least get an answer out of him, but he was starting to realise that this wouldn't happen.

"It's Greg," House muttered as he broke the kiss momentarily, "well, right now it is."

He then went on to attack the Australian's mouth recklessly; Chase was pushed far back in the seat by House's sudden eagerness and he helplessly struggled not to fall over backwards. He let one hand rest on House's shoulder, the other on his chest. House was more than enthusiastic to demonstrate the fact that he had the upper hand; he kept on pushing his young lover back in the chair, making sure that there was no escape for him at all. His kisses became increasingly greedy and impatient – almost desperate.

Chase moaned powerlessly. As the kiss grew longer and longer, he knew that he almost couldn't breathe, but it was worth it. It was as though he was breathing House in, filling his own lungs with House's air and House's scent – not to mention the sweet taste of House's lips and the minty smell of his breath. Chase thought to himself that it was practically impossible for two people to be closer to each other than this. The rest of the world and all its problems was bleeding away and every kiss brought him to care less and less. House's rough stubble scratching against his own face only made him feel safe and protected; it was a feeling that he had grown to know so well – and love.

He woke up from the trance and opened his eyes when House bit his lip and he felt a sharp sting.

"Ow!" Chase couldn't help but to try and pull back from the kiss. "What did you do that for?"

House smirked unapologetically. "That was for stealing a crippled guy's chair and forcing him to bend over."

Before Chase could think of anything to say, House grabbed him by his tie and pulled him up from the chair determinedly. House didn't like to admit it, but standing would be much better for his leg than bending over.

"Come here, you." House yanked Chase's tie again and when his semi-choking employee was forced to stand up, House pushed him up against the nearest wall, enjoying being in charge as usual.

Chase never spoke a word before another kiss was initiated.

House decided to roughen things up as he grabbed a hold of Chase's golden strands of hair. He forced his Wombat's head back and this allowed him to deepen their kiss in ways that seemed impossible, daring and almost mind-blowing. Chase had to breathe through his nose now that House had stuck his tongue so far down his throat that it felt as though his entire mouth had become invaded – overtaken. House's intense, fervent kiss made the kid's knees grow weak and without realising it himself, Chase would have stumbled forward if it hadn't been for House who grabbed his shoulder with his free hand and kept him in place, pressing him up closely against the wall.

When Chase had gained some of his strength and could think clearly again, he wrapped his arms around House's waist and tried to pull him closer. He could feel the bodily heat of the older doctor now that they were chest to chest – it was the most wonderful feeling in the world. In a way, it was funny to think that House would always use all his strength in order to keep a hold of Chase and stay in charge of every kiss and every act of affection – he really didn't have to; it wasn't like Chase ever wanted to fight against it or let go, anyway.

After what seemed like everlasting minutes, House pulled back and let Chase come up for air – it really did feel like he'd been ducked under the surface of an ocean for only God knew how long. He needed air more than he'd realised, but at the same time, he hadn't felt like he needed it when House was all over him. Just a few seconds ago, his world had only consisted of House's touch and House's warmth.

"You look dizzy." House teased him and kissed his lips with a quick smack. "You're not gonna faint, are you, Wombat?"

"No…" Chase cleared his throat and took in a deep breath. "No, I'm fine. But why did you stop?"

Chase could have blushed when it hit him how needy he sounded all of a sudden. But truth be told, he really did wish that House hadn't pulled back. He didn't care about Foreman or Cameron or the rest of the hospital – if anyone walked in and saw them there, they could say whatever they wanted to say. No one could ever take him away from House, anyway.

"Oh, you're just a sucker for my love, aren't you?" House laughed evilly. "But just so you know, I wasn't planning on stopping. I was just going to suggest that we move it to one of the empty on-call rooms before it gets so hot that I'm gonna have to rip the shirt off you. What do you say, baby?"

Chase could barely keep himself from smiling widely. "I'd like that," he said breathlessly, suddenly believing House when he claimed that he looked dizzy, "let's find an on-call room. But we better hurry, because we both have work to do and I'm not going to neglect another patient."

House merely laughed at his lover's final remark. "Don't worry, beautiful. You know how quick I can be."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Inside the on-call room, the couple undressed each other eagerly whilst keeping their lips locked together. As they laid down in the bed, House was quick to place himself on top, determined to be the one to set the pace. And it wasn't long before he had Chase biting his lip and moaning once again. Both of them were so happy and so caught up in the moment that they failed to hear the sound of Cuddy's high heels as she came walking down the hallway. They also failed to hear her footsteps pausing just outside the door.

Cuddy thought to herself that the room would probably be empty by now – after all, it was still before noon and everyone who'd been working late the previous night should be home by now. And because of that, she never even thought of knocking before grabbing the handle and pushing the door open.

She caught them right in the middle of the action. And just like Wilson, she reacted by crying out in shock:

"_Oh my God!"_

The couple broke the kiss immediately and House stopped moving. He had frozen on top of Chase, and Chase found himself trapped underneath him, unable to turn away or hide his face under the covers. There was nothing they could do at this point – Cuddy had seen plenty and she wouldn't forget it just like that.

House decided to play it cool.

"Doctor Cuddy," he said casually, as though him and Chase having sex in front of an audience was something that happened every day, "I didn't know that you were a fan of peepshows!"

Cuddy just opened up her mouth as though she wanted to say something back, but she obviously couldn't find the right words.

"I…" She slowly began to turn away from them. "I'm just gonna leave you two alone…"

"Really?" House couldn't stop himself; it was too unbelievable that Cuddy didn't even raise her voice at them. "You're just gonna let us get away with this?"

Chase looked up at House, obviously feeling uncomfortable as the older doctor began to test their boss. But he too wondered why Cuddy hadn't told them to stop or leave the room immediately.

Cuddy sighed. "I'm not gonna stop you if that's what you mean."

"Cool!" House exclaimed as he put on an almost childish, excited voice. "That means we can continue, right?"

House then leaned in to press his lips against Chase's again, but the thought of Cuddy watching had Chase moving his head to the side in order to prevent another kiss from happening.

"House – not now!" He hissed anxiously and tried to widen the distance between them by pressing a hand against his boyfriend's shoulder. "Please stop…"

Cuddy spun around instantly, determined not to look at her two employees anymore. She didn't want to come off up-tight, but this was more than she could handle right now.

"Whatever you do, just promise me to be more discrete in the future." She said in an almost scolding voice. "At least find a room that has a lock! I gotta get out of here."

She fled the room as though she was in a hurry, but she made sure not to slam the door. She wanted to keep on acting natural if anyone should see her walking out of the on-call room, blushing like a young school girl. Rumours were sometimes formed and spread for no reason at all.

As soon as Cuddy had left them, House jumped off of Chase and the two of them began to collect the clothes that had been spread all over the room. Chase could feel his own cheeks burning with humiliation – they had both been completely naked when the dean of medicine walked in. Not just that, they had also been right in the middle of having sex. Cuddy had probably heard some of the moans, too.

But for some reason, he noted that House didn't seem to care about the incident at all. He was the one who had been furious and panicky when Wilson discovered them and now he was more calm than ever. Chase didn't understand it.

"Aww, do you really have to button your shirt so quickly?" House complained and smirked at his Wombat. "I was hoping that I would get to sneak one last peek…"

Chase took in a deep breath and sat down on the bed, hiding his face behind his hands. "I can't believe Cuddy just saw us." He said quietly. "Imagine what she must think of us now. She must think that we're the worst doctors in the world for doing this when we have a case. I can't believe she didn't get angry."

House chuckled lightly. "You heard her. She wasn't going to do anything to stop us and that's all I need to know."

Chase let down his hands and studied the older doctor curiously. "How come you're taking this so well?" He asked him. "I thought you'd be furious or embarrassed or something."

"Remember, kiddo, Cuddy knew about us already." House pointed out. "Nothing gained, nothing lost."

"I know, but she was the one who told us to break it off in front of the board. Does she still think I'm suicidal? Is that why she didn't get angry?" Chase looked deeply concerned all of a sudden. "I have to go tell her that I'm fine. I don't want her to think that…"

"Whoa, hold on for a minute." House wasn't too keen on the idea that Chase should go talk to Cuddy in private. "Before you do anything, I think you should go back to the diagnostics room before Foreman or Cameron starts searching for us. And if it really means that much to you, I'll talk to Cuddy about what just happened. After all, I know just how to handle her."

Chase nodded slowly. "Great. Thank you. I just want her to know the truth."

"Sure thing." House gestured that they should both leave the room before they had another visitor. "After you, gorgeous."

Chase smiled at his boyfriend, but before he went out the door, he hesitated one last time.

"You still don't want to make our relationship public, do you?" Chase knew the answer already, but he still felt like he should at least ask House. "I mean, now that Cuddy knows and approves of us, don't you think it would be okay for the rest of the hospital to see us together?"

House felt a mild irritation and he had to struggle not to show it. "Just because Cuddy approves doesn't mean that everyone else would." He felt like a jerk every time they had to go back to this conversation, but he didn't want the kid to get his hopes up for nothing. "I just don't think it's time. Not yet. Besides, Cuddy is still only adjusting to the idea. You saw how shocked she was."

Chase nodded again, but failed to utter a single word. Sometimes he wished that House didn't have the upper hand every single time there was a decision to be made.


	15. Arrogance

While House went to see Cuddy, Chase returned to the diagnostics room. He found Cameron sitting at the table, looking a little lost and confused.

"Hey," Chase said as he joined her, "where's Foreman?"

Cameron turned her head as soon as she saw him. "He hasn't come back yet. Chase, where have you been? I thought you'd stay here and relax a little bit. After all, it's your first day back."

"Don't worry, Cameron, I'm doing just fine. I just went to the bathroom. Where's House?"

Chase thought it'd be clever if he pretended not to have seen House yet. After all, Cameron was usually the first to suspect it when something didn't seem right.

"I don't know. He's probably bothering Wilson or Cuddy somewhere." Cameron huffed. "So how are you feeling? Have you taken your medicine?"

Chase couldn't help but to smile. Oh, it was so typical of her to worry about something like this. She sounded like his mother – before the alcohol, of course.

"Yeah, I've just taken a few pills." He told her. "Don't worry – I really am doing better now."

"Good." Cameron smiled slightly cunningly. "To be honest, I'm glad that we're alone right now. There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Oh?" Chase didn't know what it was, but he suddenly felt worried. Maybe it was the piercing stare that she was giving him.

"I went to visit you the other day." She then told him. "I thought I'd stop by with some food, just in case you were feeling too sick to cook something for yourself. But when I rang the door at your old apartment, the landlady showed up and told me that you had moved out."

Chase held his breath for a second. He suddenly regretted ever having given Cameron his old address. He had never thought that she'd actually show up at the doorstep – not in a million years.

"Chase?" Cameron noted his silence right away. "Why didn't you tell anyone that you moved out? Where are you living now?"

Chase knew that he had to come up with something quick. Anything. "I don't know, I guess I forgot to mention it. I didn't think that any of you would actually come to visit." He then joked. "Anyway, I only moved because I found something closer to the hospital. And it was cheaper, too."

"That's great." Cameron said. "But where is it? I'd really love to see your new apartment some day."

For God's sake. What had gotten into her? The good old Cameron would never have imposed like this. Only if it had been House that she wanted to visit.

"Look, Cameron, you don't have to do that." Chase smiled as friendly as he possibly could. "You don't have to check up on me and bring me food. It's a really nice thought, but I'm doing just fine. Thank you."

But it didn't help – Cameron didn't cave this easily. "I'm starting to think that you've moved in with someone and you don't want me to find out." She said. "Come on, Chase, you can tell me. Is it one of the nurses? I didn't even know you had a girlfriend."

What the hell – Chase decided that he might as well go along with a story that could satisfy Cameron's curiosity. "Yeah, it's one of the nurses." He told her and shrugged. "Now you know. But you can't tell anyone, because I promised her to keep it a secret."

For some reason, this only had the immunologist laughing. "I don't buy it." Cameron said. "You only said it was one of the nurses because I suggested it. It must be someone else. Someone you don't want me to know about. You're not a very good liar, Chase."

Chase gave up. Cameron's words were eating at his nerves and he could feel a slight sting in his stomach. He wasn't in pain as such, but he knew that he definitely needed to relax if he didn't want the ulcer to bother him again.

"Look, can we talk about something else?" He then suggested, sounding almost defeated. "Let's talk about the patient. I could really use an update."

But before Cameron found the papers that showed some of the test results, there was a knock on the glass wall behind them. They both turned their heads in surprise. The door was opened and a tall man walked in. Someone they had never even seen at this hospital before.

"Is this doctor House's office?" The man asked them in a toneless voice. "I'm looking for doctor House and his assistant. Doctor Chase, I think."

"I'm doctor Chase." He knew that Cameron was now smiling because he'd been called House's assistant, but Chase didn't feel like correcting the stranger. "Can I help you with something?"

The man closed the glass door behind him. He looked grave and it was obvious that he was hoping for a private conversation. "My name is Jack Hamilton," he said, "and I have some questions about my sister's death. Her name was Laura – Laura Hamilton."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House was facing Cuddy now, and based on how shocked she still seemed, he was pretty grateful that they were alone in her office.

"House, don't you have anything better to do?" Cuddy didn't seem pleased with him for following after her. "I already told you that I'm not gonna try to break you and Chase up, so we don't have to talk about it anymore."

"Yeah… we kind of do." House sighed. He knew that it wouldn't be easy to have this sort of conversation – at least not without using his sarcasm as a shield. "See, there's something I have to tell you. I guess I have a small confession to make."

"Oh?" Cuddy looked up from her desk immediately. This was new. Since when did House make confessions?

"Yeah," House hesitated, "there's something I haven't really been honest about. And it has to do with me and Chase."

Cuddy frowned when he paused again. "Go on." She told him.

"I lied about him being suicidal." House decided to just come out with it. "He's doing a lot better and I'm not just staying with him because I think he might kill himself if we broke up. He's not that stupid, after all."

Cuddy almost didn't know what to say. At first she felt outraged, but then she thought about it. "House, you can't lie about something like that. You can't manipulate people into giving you whatever you want." She crossed her arms and she seemed enraged. "That being said, aren't you scared that I'm gonna fire both your asses now that I know Chase can take it?"

House shrugged. "You can do whatever you want. But before you punish anyone, you should know that I still think he's more vulnerable than he even realises. He's been through a lot and the trauma has compromised his health several times. I'm not gonna leave him just because you threaten to fire us for lying to you."

House was a little surprised with himself. He knew that he was good at standing his ground, but he would usually make jokes in order to break the tension. Not this time, though.

Cuddy released a small exhalation that she'd been holding in. "I'm not going to fire anyone." She then admitted. "You don't have to worry about it anymore. But for God sakes, just promise me to be discrete and stay focused on your patients. No more sex at the hospital, do you hear me?"

"I promise we'll do a better job hiding it from you next time." House smirked.

"No, you _have_ to promise me." Cuddy insisted. "It's about time you start acting like a professional around here. No more sex when you're at work – period."

House nodded. "All right." He finally agreed. He knew that he ought to thank her for putting up with his mischiefs, but that would be pushing it.

"Wait, hold on a minute." Cuddy said when House turned around to leave her office. "You lying to me isn't exactly news around here. So what made you confess the truth this time?"

House chuckled as to say that the answer was kind of obvious. "Doctor Cuddy, you know me better than most people. Do you really think I'd be here if Chase hadn't _made_ me confess?"

Cuddy couldn't hold back a knowing smile. "Well, if Chase forces you to be a more honest person, I guess he really is good for you, House. I just hope you're good for him as well and that you won't make him stoop down to your level."

House rolled his eyes. "What in God's name do you mean, woman?" He sounded outraged as he walked out the door but in reality, Cuddy had only pointed out something that he'd already been thinking to himself several times.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House was surprised to find the diagnostics room so crowded when he returned. Chase and Cameron were sitting at the table, facing a man that House had never seen before. And he certainly didn't take kindly to strangers sitting at his table.

"Yo Foreman," House announced as he walked in the door, "you've changed your colour, haven't you?"

House was looking directly at the unknown man so he failed to see the looks that he received from both Chase and Cameron – they were mortified to see House joking in front the brother of their dead patient.

"House…" Cameron warned him in a strict voice, but she was ignored.

"Excuse me?" Jack Hamilton asked House, staring back at the diagnostician. "What did you just call me?"

"I called you Foreman," House said casually, "don't worry, it's not an insult. Or actually, some people might argue that it is."

Jack Hamilton looked anything but amused. "You must be doctor House." He said in a slightly hostile voice. "I've been warned about you."

"Warned about me?" House turned around to look at his two employees this time. "You guys, what have you been telling him about me? Cameron, I'm sure you must have said something nice. Have you told him how much you adore me yet?"

Cameron rolled her eyes. "No, of course I haven't." She said in a slightly high-pitched voice. "House, please don't…"

"It's a shame Foreman isn't here," House interrupted her, "I'm sure that he would talk me up in his own angry, slightly hateful way."

Cameron bit her lip nervously, and Chase took a short look at the man sitting on the other side of the table, looking more and more annoyed by House's words. He knew that House needed to be stopped before he said something catastrophic.

"House, please stop talking." He heard himself say in a serious voice. Finally, House was looking at him and the older man could tell that his Wombat seemed anxious. So, naturally, House stopped talking. "This is Jack Hamilton," Chase informed him worriedly, "he's the brother of Laura Hamilton. He's here because he has some questions for us."

"Oh." House's expression had changed completely. He almost looked grave now. "I see."

Cameron looked from House to Chase and she sensed that the two of them had just had some sort of eye contact, which was weird in itself. But what surprised and confused her even more was the fact that House actually seemed to listen to Chase's warning. Since when had the older doctor taken his Australian employee seriously? She wondered in silence.

"Mr. Hamilton," House said as he took a seat at the end of the table, "if you have any questions for us, I suggest you ask them now instead of wasting our time. We're on a new case, you see."

Both Chase and Cameron felt slightly terrified by House's rudeness. This was not the way to greet a person who had just lost his sister under their care.

Jack Hamilton smiled wryly at House. "You don't seem particularly sorry to me." He said. "It's funny. I came here because I wanted answers about my sister's mysterious death, but now I'm more curious to see if you actually have a conscience or not, doctor House."

"Her death wasn't mysterious." House replied simply. "Your lunatic sister cut her own throat. Do you really need a further explanation from me?"

"House!" Cameron yelped. "You can't talk to him like that."

Mr. Hamilton took a look at Cameron, then at Chase. "Your assistants seem more worried about this than you do. I bet you've forgotten about my dead sister a long time ago."

"As a matter of fact, yes I have." House shrugged when everyone in the room looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry, but what do you want me to say? Life goes on. New day, new case and all that."

Suddenly, Mr. Hamilton decided to stand up from his chair. "How dare you treat me so disrespectfully? You killed my sister and you're not even sorry about it. I'm disgusted that you even got away with it…"

"I did not kill your sister!" House exclaimed angrily. "God damn it, haven't you been paying attention? Your crazy sister killed herself – she chose to die and that has nothing to do with me."

"Oh yes it does!" Jack Hamilton shouted furiously. "You didn't look after her! You didn't care about her at all – you did nothing to save her!"

Chase could tell that House was about to lose his temper and so he decided to meddle in.

"Hold on, Mr. Hamilton," he said, standing up from his chair as well, "I'm sorry, but it really wasn't doctor House's fault. He wasn't even at the hospital when it happened. But I was. I was the one looking after Laura that night, so I was the one who should have stayed in her room. I'm sorry."

Jack Hamilton looked at Chase with distant eyes. He was a big man – not only tall, but robust and masculine as well. His stare then turned wild and intense and that was enough to make him terrifying.

"What are you telling me?" The man almost spat. "You left her to die all alone?"

"Mr. Hamilton, no one could have known that your sister would kill herself," Cameron butted in nervously, "with all do respect, her death wasn't anyone's fault. Doctor Chase had to leave her room at some point."

"Shut up!" Jack Hamilton's voice was beginning to sound frantic. "I was told that some idiot doctor left his scalpel in her room. I'm guessing that was you, doctor Chase?"

Mr. Hamilton was now walking towards Chase and Cameron's side of the table. Chase had no chance of predicting his next move, but he decided to stand his ground and not back away from the man. All he could do was apologize, and if Mr. Hamilton wasn't willing to accept that, they could always ask him to leave.

"Yes, I left my coat in her room and the scalpel was in my pocket." Chase admitted. "I'm sorry, I had no idea that she would even look for it. When I came back and found her, I tried everything I possibly could to save her, but as you may know, she had lost too much blood already and her throat was…"

"Stop – just stop!" Mr. Hamilton ordered him angrily. "I don't want to hear it. You're the reason that Laura is dead. I'm guessing you were too distracted to notice the fact that she had swallowed a needle to injure herself, but how could you just let her die like an animal? I don't understand it."

Chase watched as Mr. Hamilton came closer again. This time, Cameron looked down in the table, pretending she wasn't there. She was clearly uncomfortable.

"I can assure you that I didn't just let her die," Chase tried his hardest to sound calm, but it was hard to convince himself that Mr. Hamilton was wrong to accuse him, "I did my best to save her, but you have to understand that…"

"I don't believe you!" Jack Hamilton cut him off. "I think you're lying to me. You're just lying to protect your job. Stupid blondes like you shouldn't be allowed to become doctors!"

House saw the man taking another step towards Chase, and now the two of them were only a few feet from each other.

"Hey, back off!" House told him as a warning. He didn't want him to come any nearer his Wombat. He stood up from the chair even though he knew that Cameron was looking at him like she didn't understand his protective reaction at all. "You leave my employees alone, do you hear me?" House grabbed his cane, just in case.

"Do you really think I take orders from a crippled guy?" Jack Hamilton gave House a hateful look, but then he focused on Chase again. "Listen to me, Blondie, I'm gonna get your ass fired. What kind of a doctor lets his own patients die like dogs?"

He prodded Chase hard in the chest with his chubby finger. Chase winced, but he felt like Laura's brother was partly right to lash out on him. After all, he was probably crazed with grief over having lost his sister.

"Don't touch him!" House yelled, having lost his patience. "I swear to God that I will call security if you don't leave my office immediately."

"No, House, it's okay." Chase told him as he wanted to avoid a big scene. "Don't call security."

Mr. Hamilton only seemed angrier with Chase now for trying to calm down House. "You're the worst doctor in the world!" He cried out close to his face. "I want you fired, do you hear me? You killed my sister!"

Jack Hamilton leapt forward and grabbed Chase's shoulders with his big, strong hands. He began to shake the young doctor violently whilst he kept on yelling that he was a murderer.

"Leave him alone!" House warned him one final time. "If you don't let go of him, I swear to God that I will…"

House didn't know how to finish his sentence, so he merely raised his cane and used it to whack the big man's arm. Cameron's jaw nearly dropped when she saw this – she couldn't believe that House would actually stand up for Chase . House and Chase had always hated each other, hadn't they? So how come House was the one acting like he was about to panic?

"You hit me." Jack Hamilton suddenly decided to let go of Chase and so he turned to House. "You hit me with your cane. Is that really how you treat people at this hospital?"

"You assaulted my employee!" House spat furiously. "So yes, that is how I treat people at this hospital if they are acting like complete assholes."

"Oh so you're calling me an asshole now?" Mr. Hamilton challenged him. "Are you sure that you're not gonna take that back, you little quack?"

"Why would I take it back when it's the truth?" House replied coolly.

Cameron touched Chase's shoulder to see if he was all right. Chase gave her a nod in order to tell her that he was fine.

"I'm gonna call security." She told him in a muffled voice. "I think he's gonna refuse to leave on his own."

However, Cameron didn't even need to be discrete. It was House that had Mr. Hamilton's full attention and no one else.

"You, doctor House, are going to regret ever touching me with that damn cane of yours." The tall man approached the older doctor defiantly. "You are going to regret every word that you have mocked me with so far. I will make sure of that."

"Oh yeah?" House huffed and it provoked him further. "In that case, I might as well mock you some more while we're at it, don't you think? And to be honest, there are a couple of things that I want you to know before you leave. First of all, you should know that your sister was a selfish idiot and a coward. She chose to give up on life and now _you_ are an even bigger idiot than her for denying it. If you need someone to be mad at, be mad at her for leaving her family behind. Don't take it out on the doctors that actually tried to save that crazy bitch's life."

The room turned silent for a moment. Chase looked at House as though he was begging for him to take those words back, and Cameron held her breath out of fear. She knew that security was on their way, but this man probably still had the time to take a swing or two at House.

"Did you just call my sister a crazy bitch?" Jack Hamilton's voice sounded deeper, darker. "My dead sister? You really have that little respect for other people?"

"No wait," Chase added quickly, "he didn't mean it like that. Believe me, House would never…"

Just as Cameron thought to herself that it was weird to hear Chase speaking on House's behalf, House butted in:

"Stop talking, Chase. This idiot needs to know that I meant every word I said. I really do think of her as a quitter and a crazy bitch, and I'm not taking it back." House almost smiled in triumph. "Do whatever you want from now on. Hire a lawyer, drag me to court, I don't care. Just don't ever assault my staff again, because you will be punished for that."

Jack Hamilton noted the proud smile on House's lips. "So you're not going to take it back and you're not going to apologize for anything, are you?" He asked him calmly.

"Nope." House told him.

Jack Hamilton nodded. "You know – you're an arrogant man, doctor House. And I promise that you will be punished for that, one way or another."

Just as he paused to take a deep breath, the glass door was opened behind them. Security had arrived. Cameron quickly nodded towards Mr. Hamilton and the two guards understood that he was the one they needed to take away from the hospital property.

"Sir, please come with us." One of the guards said. Surprisingly enough, Jack Hamilton didn't even resist when they tried to escort him out of the room.

"This won't be the last time you see me, doctor House." Mr. Hamilton said as he wanted to have the last word. "I'm gonna make you pay for what you have done. Trust me on that."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House had barely moved a muscle since the guards had escorted Mr. Hamilton from the diagnostics room whereas both Chase and Cameron had sat down at the table again. They were both uncomfortably quiet, one of them looking more worried than the other.

House supressed a sigh and decided to break the silence. "Calling security was probably the right decision. Good job, Cameron."

Cameron looked up at her boss. "Don't flatter me, House. It wouldn't have been necessary if you hadn't behaved like a complete jerk."

House noticed that even though Cameron seemed pissy with him, Chase didn't. The Wombat was just sitting there quietly. He looked distant and he probably wasn't paying any attention to him or Cameron. House wondered if Chase had taken Mr. Hamilton's words to heart. He certainly looked bothered about something.

"Doctor Chase, are you okay?" House knew that this kind of question was out of character for him and that Cameron would notice this immediately, but he asked the question anyway.

Chase looked up, almost startled to find that House had addressed this question to him in front of Cameron. His eyes grew bigger with surprise. "Uh, I'm fine." He muttered. He looked from House to Cameron and he knew that his female co-worker was just as stunned as he was.

House nodded and tried to look away from both his employees, but the truth was that he could tell that something was bothering his Wombat. And it pained him that he couldn't ask any specific questions because of Cameron's presence. Chase almost looked burdened and House feared that Mr. Hamilton's visit could have done some damage to his ulcer. If that was the case, Chase was probably in pain right now.

"Hold on, did you just ask him if he's okay?" Cameron butted in and gave House a funny stare. "What has gotten into you, House? Are you trying to make up for being a jerk to Mr. Hamilton by being nice to us instead? Because that would suggest that you actually feel guilty and I don't think that's the case."

Cameron's analysis of House had begun, and House grunted irritably.

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure? Are you a mind-reader or something?" House ridiculed her.

"I know you." She said, sounding miffed. "Don't you think I can tell when something's going on with you? There's something different, I just can't figure out what it is."

House chuckled lightly. "Oh yeah, you just know people, don't you? That's why you find _everything_ suspicious."

House gave Chase an amused look and Chase couldn't help but to smile discretely. Unfortunately, though, Cameron noticed this and after thinking it over for a moment or two, she came to a conclusion that upset her and shocked her at the same time.

"Oh my God," she said out loud, "House, you defended Chase when Mr. Hamilton assaulted him. I saw the anger in your eyes, and I have never seen you that way before."

Both men looked at Cameron like she was crazy all of a sudden. Naturally, both House and Chase had to act like they had no idea where she was going with this.

"And Chase, when you told House not to call security, he actually listened to you even though he never listens to anyone." Cameron went on. "_And_ you apologized to Mr. Hamilton on House's behalf. You were worried that House was getting himself into trouble."

Cameron's eyes were big and round. Her sudden realisation appeared to have excited her in a way that couldn't possibly be good for any of them.

"Cameron, what are you trying to say?" Chase asked her hesitantly. He really hoped that she wasn't going to say what he thought she would say.

"Yeah, what the hell is your point?" House added impatiently.

"I asked Chase why he had moved out of his old apartment and where he was living now, but he refused to tell me anything," Cameron said, looking directly at House this time, "but the truth is that he's living with you now, isn't it? You're the one he's having a secret relationship to, House. That's why you had to defend him in front of Mr. Hamilton. That's why he apologized on your behalf, and that's why you kicked me out of his room when he was hospitalised – because you wanted to talk to him first."

Cameron paused and it looked like she was on the verge of freaking out; her cheeks were getting redder and her eyes wider. "Oh my God. I can't believe it," she added in a dramatic whisper, "you two are having an affair with each other and you've kept it a secret from everyone around here."

Chase didn't know what to say. He felt mortified. He just knew that House would be upset after this. Angry, even. But what could he do now? Deny everything? It was too late for that. Cameron wouldn't fall for another lie. Without even noticing it, Chase held his hand over his stomach. This time, it was beginning to hurt a lot more, and it all made him feel anxious.

House was just as shocked. He was staring at Cameron without even blinking. It was as though he was quietly challenging her to take it all back. If she thought that she could score some extra points with him for playing a nosey detective, she was wrong.

"Who told you that we're having an affair?" House asked her in a dark voice. And by doing this, he had pretty much revealed himself.

"No one." Cameron scowled. "I only realised after Mr. Hamilton's visit."

"Yeah right…" House was still too shaken by Cameron's words. He didn't even know what his next move should be.

"What? You think I'm too stupid to find out on my own?" As always, Cameron was making the situation about her. "You know, House, just because I'm a woman doesn't mean that I'm…"

"Shut up." House told her straight and turned towards Chase. "Did you have anything to do with this?" House asked him bluntly. "Answer me, god dammit! Did you tell her about us?"

"No!" Chase could hardly believe that House would actually accuse him of this. "Why would I do that? Didn't you hear what she said? I never gave her any information about my new address…"

"Oh right, because that's not at all suspicious!" House rolled his eyes mockingly. Only this time, he wasn't trying to be funny. "You could have told her anything – that you got evicted, that you found a room mate, that you're living on the street now. But telling her nothing is just plain _stupid_!"

Chase opened up his mouth as he wanted to say something back. He hated it when House called him stupid in front of other people. But then he simply gave up. What did it matter anyway? House was angry and there was nothing that he could say to make it better right now. He took a quick look at Cameron. He couldn't tell if she was more angry or appalled.

"You know what, there is nothing I can say." Chase told him truthfully. "Clearly you feel even more ashamed now that another person knows about us, but this was just as much your screw-up as it was mine. We obviously never managed to come up with a decent cover story."

Cameron was beginning to feel uncomfortable even though she only wanted to stay mad. She could tell that Chase looked hurt, and she understood that he and House must have had some problems. Was it really true that House was ashamed of their relationship? Was that why her boss seemed so angry now that the cards were on the table?

"Well, it wasn't me who told Wilson about us." House reminded him angrily. "You've done this before, so why wouldn't you do it again? I'm starting to think that you're actually enjoying this. You _wanted_ Cameron to know, didn't you? And now you probably hope for Foreman to find out, too!"

Chase felt another sting in his stomach, and he knew that he wasn't fit to pick a fight with House at this point. Especially not in front of Cameron.

"Believe whatever you want, House." He muttered solemnly. "But you should know me better than that."

He decided to leave the diagnostics room quietly, trying to avoid making a scene. As he walked out the glass door, he knew that both House and Cameron were watching him and so he walked down the hall slowly. But as soon as he knew that they couldn't see him anymore, he hurried into the men's room and he almost fell down on his knees. He was quickly overpowered by a coughing fit and he tried to hover over one of the sinks. He saw that a little blood was mixed with the running water and he closed his eyes tiredly.

_Not again._

Meanwhile, back in the diagnostics room, House was still staring at Cameron accusingly. He felt annoyed, he felt betrayed. He thought to himself that she deserved to be fired on the spot, but that wouldn't exactly improve his own situation.

"Why do you always have to mess with other people's business?" He asked her grumpily. "Thank you for making my life miserable!"

Cameron pouted and gave House a hateful look in return. "Why did you have to pick him of all people?" She asked. "You're obviously not in love, you were just looking for someone to have sex with, House."

House shook his head and decided to leave the room before he lost his temper again. At this moment, it wouldn't take much to provoke him further.

As he entered the hallway, he chose the same direction as Chase had. And for some inexplicable reason, House just had a feeling where he needed to look for his Wombat. He entered the men's room hesitantly, and when he found Chase hovering over the sink, coughing up blood again, he just went inside so that he could be there for him.

House padded Chase's back carefully, and when the coughing fit was over at last, he gave him a long, quiet hug.

"You okay?" House asked him in a muffled voice.

"I think so." Chase sounded hoarse. "I'm better now."

"Good." House decided that he still didn't feel like breaking the hug. "I'm sorry for accusing you before, baby. I never should have taken my anger out on you."

"It's okay." Chase told him. "To be honest, I was a little annoyed that she found out, too. Let's hope she won't tell anyone else."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Cameron didn't forgive House and Chase for lying to her, and she certainly didn't forgive them for hooking up with each other when they both could have picked any girl they wanted – a girl like Cameron herself, she thought. She felt angry and bitter and she thought that some kind of revenge would be in order.

She was right to get back at them, wasn't she? After all, they had both betrayed her.

Foreman returned to the diagnostics room just as all the drama had ended. He found Cameron sitting at the table all by herself, looking pissy again.

"Cameron?" Foreman looked around, but House's office was empty and Chase was gone too. "Why are you alone in here?"

Cameron looked up at him, and a small smile appeared on her lips.

"Sit down," she ordered him firmly, "I have something to tell you. You won't believe it, but trust me when I say it's true."

"Okay?" Foreman took a seat. "What's up?"

Cameron smirked in triumph. "Guess who's sleeping with House." She said.


	16. Jealousy

On the way home from the hospital, both House and Chase were unusually quiet. Normally, House would pester Chase, asking him what he was going to make them for dinner or, if House was feeling frisky, he would be flirting heavily. As soon as the car had left the hospital parking lot, he would go on about all the things that he wanted to do to his Wombat and most of the time, Chase seemed to enjoy his ideas. And if House should be quiet or in a mood, Chase would try to cheer him up by telling him a story about something funny that had happened to him that day. It could be a joke that he had heard, or a conversation that he had had with a patient.

Today was nothing like that. Neither of them felt like lightening the mood. There was nothing to be said that could make up for the fact that Cameron had figured everything out. The two of them had nearly turned against each other because of it, but luckily, they both seemed to have agreed that it wasn't worth it. Their relationship probably couldn't stand another fight right now.

"So," House began hesitantly, "this was your first day back at work."

"Yeah." Chase said quietly. "What a day, huh?"

"Well, some people might call it eventful." House admitted.

"I'm not sure what to be more worried about now." Chase thought it over. "Cuddy walking in on us while we were having sex, Cameron finding out about us, or your little conversation with Laura's brother."

House turned his head and looked at his Wombat. "_Or_ the fact that you coughed up blood again." He added in all seriousness.

"I'm fine now." Chase assured him. "But you know, the more I think about it, the more I believe that you should warn Cuddy about Mr. Hamilton. He seemed really bitter. And he basically threatened you, Greg. What if he really meant what he said?"

House grunted. "That man was just being an idiot. I wouldn't worry too much about it." He paused before adding the words: "I'm glad he didn't get to hurt you, though." His voice had suddenly turned softer.

Chase couldn't help but to smile at the older man. "I have you to thank for that."

And just like that, the couple seemed to feel a little better already. Even though they still needed to face the fact that Cameron would probably demand an explanation from them, they knew that they would both stick up for each other, and that was the main thing.

"Robbie, can I ask you something?" House said after another minute or two in complete silence.

"Anything." Chase told him.

"How come you didn't get mad at me for being a jerk to Laura's brother?" House kept his eyes on the road, but he would have liked to see the look on Chase's face. "I mean, I thought you'd blame me like Cameron did."

Chase shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, what you said was insensitive and wrong. But I kept in mind that he wasn't the only one grieving. You just lost your dad, Greg. You're grieving like he is and so I figured that was why you needed to lash out on him."

"Oh." House bit his lip and told himself that there was no need to feel guilty. "You really think that my loss was as bad as his?"

"You can't compare losses like that," Chase confessed, "I mean, you lost your dad under different circumstances. But that doesn't mean you're suffering any less than Mr. Hamilton is."

"Right. I guess that's true."

House barely knew what else to say. And so he decided not to ask any more questions.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

The couple enjoyed a hot shower together after dinner.

They were both busy fooling around with each other, playing around with the soap, letting it slip as though the little piece of soap was an eager explorer of both their bodies, and this was a result of both of them feeling frisky. House ran his fingers up and down Chase's body, playfully, and the two of them shared a long, slow kiss under the running water.

But then they heard the phone ringing from inside the living room, and it all ended with Chase turning off the water.

"I'll get it." He said as he walked out of the shower and grabbed a towel.

House immediately followed him out of the shower. "No wait," he told him quickly, "let me do that."

"I'm faster, Greg." Chase merely gave his partner a teasing, but kind smile. "Besides, I don't want you to take a fall – the floor is pretty slippery."

Chase wrapped the towel around his waist, but House knew that he couldn't let him do this. The fear of the caller being either one of his parents had overpowered him and now it drove him into desperation. If Chase picked up the phone and it turned out to be his alive-and-well father, House knew that the consequences would be catastrophic.

"Hey, I'm quick enough to answer the phone," House told Chase in a slightly annoyed tone, "look, I don't even need a towel. I'll just walk in there and get it _naked_."

"Nah-ah, you're dripping wet," Chase was already walking towards the door, "don't worry, Greg, I'll pass the phone on to you when you're ready."

"But I'm ready now!" House cried out. "Robert, wait –"

But Chase had already left the bathroom and House could hear him running into the living room. The kid picked up the phone just in time, it seemed. House listened desperately as he followed after. If his mother had chosen to call him tonight of _all_ nights, House knew it in his heart that he would never forgive her for bringing his love life in danger like this.

He walked into the living room and he saw that Chase was holding the phone up to his ear, facing away from House.

"Hello?" Chase paused briefly. "Oh hi, Wilson! Sure, I'll get House for you, hold on…"

House sighed with relief. God damn it. Who would have thought that a white lie could cause him so many worries? Chase turned around, smiled, and handed House the phone.

"For you." The Wombat said, looking unbearably sexy with the wet hair and the water drops running down his naked chest. He grinned when he noticed House's slow reaction.

House forced himself to take his eyes off the kid's body. "I could have answered that myself." He told Chase grumpily, looking down in the floor. "I don't need you to answer my calls for me, okay?"

Chase looked completely taken aback for a moment. "Why is it such a big deal? It's just Wilson." He spoke quietly as he didn't want the oncologist on the other end to catch any part of the conversation.

"I know, but I just don't want you to answer my phone for me!" House insisted. "I mean, it could have been anybody… Just don't do it again, Robert. Okay?"

House took the phone out of Chase's hands.

"Sorry." The Australian watched his boyfriend turning away from him. House was moving towards the kitchen, and so Chase got the feeling that he wanted to talk with Wilson in private.

He wasn't sure what had just happened, but it certainly made him wonder. Was House keeping secrets from him?

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

When the couple went to bed that night, Chase noticed that House seemed distracted. It was almost as though he was concerned about something. The older man kept to his side of the bed stubbornly which was highly unusual. Was this another sign of House being angry?

"Greg?" Chase propped himself up on his elbows, eying his boyfriend tiredly. "You can't still be mad at me for answering your phone. I already said I was sorry and that I won't do it again."

"Mph…" House grunted dully as though he hadn't even been listening. "No, no, I'm not mad. I was just thinking about something else."

"What?"

"Nothing important."

"See, you _are_ mad." Chase sighed. "You're not even talking to me…"

"Yes I am. I'm talking to you right now." House thought to himself that he couldn't stand another argument. Not when it had been such a long day. "Stop being so paranoid."

"I just don't understand what the fuss is about." Chase admitted. "Are your phone calls really so private?"

"It's not that they're private. But what if the call was from someone who still doesn't know about us? Then it would seem weird that you're answering my phone." House thought that this excuse was as good as any at this point. But he still knew that it wouldn't leave his Wombat satisfied.

"And now we're back to you wanting to keep our relationship a secret." Chase didn't sound upset as such, but perhaps fed up with the situation. "You know, things only get complicated when you start to lie. It would be so much easier if we could just tell people the truth…"

"Not all lies are bad," House interrupted him insistently, "some lies are actually made for the benefit of other people. In some cases, that's better than telling the truth."

"No it's not." Chase couldn't believe that they were having this discussion. "I don't think that lying can ever be better than telling the truth."

House groaned. "Not all lies are bad." He repeated persistently. "End of discussion. Now come here, you."

House shifted and he threw an arm around Chase's shoulders. Chase caved in and snuggled closer; he was tired of disagreements anyway and decided to let it go. The couple pulled each other into a loose, but gentle embrace. House enjoyed the warmth of Chase's naked, soft skin against his own, and he thought to himself that this was the kind of warmness that could really make his heart melt over and over again, and yet, the kid didn't even realise his own power. Chase was so soft, so sweet, so pure and so pleasant to touch and feel. House knew that he, personally, had always been rougher and less endearing to be around, but the kid possessed a loving quality that made all the roughness go away.

"I love how you always keep me warm at night, do you know that?" House muttered in a quiet voice and moved his lips to kiss Chase's jaw. "For some reason you always manage to stay warm."

Chase planted a kiss on House's shoulder in return and rested his head on his chest. "I was never this warm when I was alone, though." He said.

House tightened the embrace by pulling Chase's slender waist closer to his own. He knew that tonight, the two of them weren't going to have sex. Not again. Instead they would just continue to lie here, as close to each other as possible, feeling each other's presence and enjoying the sensation of safety and intimacy that it had created. House could still smell the soap on Chase's skin, and Chase was close enough to hear House's steady heartbeat. Neither of them would let go of their partner during the night, and so when they woke up the next morning, they would still be intertwined, caught up and protected in each other's arms.

And in a way, House thought, _that_ was actually better than having sex.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

The next morning, House and Chase walked in the diagnostics room five minutes apart as usual, still pretending to have arrived at the hospital separately. Chase noticed a small frown from Cameron the minute that she saw him, and he could almost read her mind:

"_You don't fool me so you might as well stop trying."_

But he tried to ignore it. There was still Foreman who needed convincing and Chase didn't intend to make _him_ suspicious of them as well. Foreman was quietly reading a newspaper and drinking his coffee, and it didn't seem like he and Cameron had been talking before House and Chase arrived.

House walked in the door, and they all looked up.

"Good morning." House grunted in his usual way. "I hope you're all ready to give me some results. No? Oh well, I should have guessed."

House was making his way towards his office when Cameron decided to speak up:

"It's funny how you and Chase always arrive five minutes apart, don't you think?"

House paused immediately and he looked over his shoulder. From Cameron's self-satisfied smirk he could tell that she was testing him and Chase as she wanted to see if they would break down in front of Foreman.

But of course, that was a game that House wasn't going to let her win. "If you really think that's funny, your sense of humour is so bad that it's actually concerning." He replied casually.

House disappeared into his office, and Chase was left alone with the others at the table. He noted how Cameron kept on smirking in triumph and how Foreman just continued to keep quiet. It was hard to tell what was going on. Chase feared the worst, but at the same time, he didn't want to be paranoid either.

House returned and he walked over to the whiteboard.

"Cameron," he said, "I assume you have some test results ready for us. And Foreman, you went to the patient's apartment yesterday. Tell me if you found something."

Foreman was just about to make a statement about what he had found at the patient's apartment when something made him stop to think.

"Hold on," he said as he looked directly at House, "if Cameron was running tests yesterday and I went to see the patient's apartment, then what did Chase do?"

"Oh I think I know what you have to say about that, House," Cameron butted in immediately, "you're gonna say that Chase had nothing better to do than sit around here and look pretty all day, aren't you?"

Both Cameron and Foreman were staring at House like they demanded answers from him. Chase felt like swallowing a lump in his throat, but House didn't seem bothered at all.

"Keep it in your pants, Cameron," House told her coolly, "we all know that you're a lustful, young woman with crazy desires, but this is a workplace, do you understand?"

"I'm serious, House." Cameron grunted. "And you just avoided Foreman's question. Was that because you couldn't find a proper answer for him?"

House pretended to think about it for a moment. "No actually," he remarked, "it was because you butted in and tried to answer the question for me. But who knows, maybe you take control so often that Foreman actually thinks you're the boss now?"

House looked at Foreman, and Foreman rolled his eyes.

"No House, the question _was_ addressed to you, not Cameron." The neurologist said. "And I would still like to get an answer from you."

"Fine." House shrugged. "If you really want to know, Cameron was the one who insisted that Chase should have an easy start because it was his first day back at work. She told him to just stay in the diagnostics room and read some files. Isn't that right?"

House looked at Cameron, and from her annoyed frown, Foreman could tell that House was telling the truth. However, this was not enough to satisfy him.

"So Cameron tells Chase to relax and not strain himself too much because of the ulcer. Fine, I understand that." Foreman stood up from his chair. "But what I don't understand is why you agreed with her. We all know that Cameron's overprotective by nature and likes to mother injured people. But you're known for being the opposite, House. If it had been anyone else instead of Chase, you would have told us to just do our jobs. You wouldn't have cared at all."

Chase could feel himself blushing – he realised that Cameron must have told Foreman about them, too. And it felt awful to have your own colleagues arguing over you.

House took Foreman's words lightly. "If that's how you feel," he smiled calmly, "then you should try and get yourself a stomach ulcer. Then you can find out if I'll treat you like Chase, or if I'm just the discriminating son of a bitch that you think I am."

And with those words, House turned his back on all of them and walked into his office.

"You treat Chase differently from me and Cameron, and you know it!" Foreman shouted at their boss, even though he was completely ignored. "You don't make Chase work as hard as the rest of us!"

Chase was so embarrassed that he hid his face behind his hands. He couldn't believe the mess that he was in now.

"Thanks for telling Foreman our secret." He muttered tiredly when he noticed that Cameron was smirking at him across the table. "Are you happy now?"

"Kind of." She said. "I just hope you've learned your lesson."

"What lesson?" Chase asked her, sounding startled.

"If you're gonna break the rules, you're gonna get punished." Cameron shrugged. "It's as simple as that."

Chase could hardly control himself when a wave of anger washed over him. Luckily, Foreman attracted his attention before he could say something to Cameron that he'd regret later.

"Chase, can I talk to you in private?" Foreman was already walking towards the door. "There's something I really need to say to you."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Chase and Foreman were facing each other in the hallway. Luckily, Chase realised, there didn't seem to be anyone else around. When Foreman said nothing, he decided that he might as well try to get to the point himself.

"So I'm guessing that Cameron told you about House and me." He began quietly. "I don't know exactly how she put it, but I think you should know that we're not just…"

"Stop talking, Chase." Foreman held up a hand in front of his face. "I'm not interested in your explanations. You're sleeping with House and that's a fact, so don't try to change the story here."

"I wasn't trying to change the story!" Chase assured him. "I'm just unsure if Cameron gave you the right version of the story, is all."

"She gave me plenty of information, thank you." Foreman looked pissed off, but at least he wasn't raising his voice anymore. "Look, Chase, I know that you and I are not used to talking about personal matters. But there is something I want you to know so I'm just gonna say it even if it gets awkward."

Chase had to supress a sigh; there were so many things that he wanted to tell Foreman – things that might even make him less angry – but he was forced to hear Foreman out first. "Go ahead." He said.

"Well, I just want you to know that, after all, I thought you were better than that, Chase." Foreman looked him in the eyes, gravely. "I thought you had more self-respect."

"Whoa, what is that supposed to mean?!" Chase blurted out. He didn't like where Foreman was going with this. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying that I know you've been struggling since your father's death. I get it, okay? You were used to being rich when your father was alive, but now you have to learn how to look after yourself. It's rough, but it's something we all must learn at some point." Foreman sounded incredibly patronising – you would think that he was talking down to a small kid. "But I hope you're not just sleeping with House because you need him to pay your bills."

"Pay my bills?!" Chase bellowed. "Foreman, are you bloody kidding me?"

Foreman shrugged. "You and I both know that House has always been interested in having sex with beautiful people. And so I'm wondering if you decided to sleep with House so that he could give you a raise or a bonus of some sort. Be honest with me, Chase, how much money are you making these days? Let's compare our pay-checks, shall we?"

Chase was so upset that he could feel his own cheeks burning. He knew that he shouldn't dignify Foreman's accusations with an answer, but at the same time he couldn't resist.

"If you really think so little of me that you honestly believe that I would have sex with House for his money, I have nothing more to say to you."

Chase turned around, but Foreman stopped him before he could go anywhere.

"I'm sorry, man, but what am I supposed to think?" Foreman let his hand rest on Chase's shoulder so that he could be sure he wouldn't go anywhere. "Look, you're obviously not doing the heavy lifting around here. I know that you've been sick, but House is still not making you do the same work that Cameron and I do. Do you really think that's fair?"

"Foreman, I'm sorry, but you have no idea what's been going on. I haven't just been sick because of the ulcer." Chase grunted. "I've been depressed, okay? But I've still done my best to keep up with you guys at work. I swear."

"I don't care if you've been depressed. We all get depressed every now and then," Foreman raised his voice again, "but when that happens to the rest of us, we pull ourselves together. We go back to work and we take care of our patients. That's what any doctor is obligated to do."

"You don't understand. I still feel responsible for what happened to our other patient, Laura Hamilton. I still feel like it's my fault that she died. Do you have any idea what it's like to live with that kind of guilt? Do you have any idea how many nightmares I've had since I found her all covered in blood in her room…"

Chase stopped himself all of a sudden. He had never thought he'd actually be sharing emotions with a guy like Foreman who obviously wasn't impressed with any of it. Chase knew that it probably sounded like he was making excuses for himself, and that Foreman considered him pathetic because of it.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through all that crap," Foreman admitted hesitantly, "but my point is, if any of that happened to Cameron or me, House would get us fired. He wouldn't be patient enough or give us the time to recover. He's only putting up with your crap because you're sleeping with him, and that's why I don't think it's fair that I still have to work harder than you."

Chase stepped back so that Foreman was forced to let go of his shoulder. "Yesterday was my first day back at work. And I'm sorry if I didn't do as much work as I should have. I'm gonna change that from now on. I'm feeling better every day and the stronger I get, the more work I will do. I'm not just sleeping with House to get out of work or to earn more money. I promise." Chase paused; he could tell that Foreman didn't believe him at all. "I like my job and I'm more than willing to take all the long shifts again, as soon as I feel ready. My relationship to House has nothing to do with my effort…"

He stopped talking as Foreman began to chuckle. "I'm sorry, did you say relationship?" Foreman laughed out loud. "Don't joke like that. Cameron told me you're just having an affair with House. Not a relationship."

"Cameron is wrong," Chase told him in all seriousness, "it's more than an affair. House and I are living together. I really care about him."

This only had Foreman laughing even louder. "Look, Chase, don't go there. You don't have to lie to me. I already told Cameron that we shouldn't tell anyone else about you and House's affair, so relax – your secret will be kept. You can stop pretending."

"I am not pretending!" Chase exclaimed, feeling genuinely angry this time. "I really do care about House and he cares about me too!"

"Are you kidding me? House doesn't care about anyone!"

"You're wrong." Chase crossed his arms. "House is not the bad guy that everyone thinks he is. He's a loving and honest man, and he's treating me well."

It was obvious that Foreman was struggling not to laugh again. The neurologist held his breath for a minute, and then he touched the Australian's shoulder, more sympathetically this time.

"Don't fool yourself, Chase." He said. "House will never be loving as a person, and he will _never_ be honest either. If you really believe that he cares about you, then I'm afraid you're gonna get hurt."

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

The atmosphere in the diagnostics room continued to be tensed and awkward throughout the afternoon. House pretended not to be concerned with this at all, and Chase envied his boyfriend's ability to relax and act as though everything was fine. He kept receiving all kinds of looks from Cameron over and over again; she was obviously carrying an even bigger grudge than Foreman was. Later that afternoon, Chase and Cameron went to visit their patient together, but even when they were supposed to be asking the poor guy about his condition, Cameron continued to give Chase mean stares.

The tension was really eating away at Chase, and House could tell. And so around 4pm, House decided to let the team go home early for a change. Not just Chase who really needed a break, but all of them. That way Foreman couldn't accuse him of discriminating again. House took Chase aside when no one was looking, gave him a quick kiss and told him that he should go home to rest. He didn't want his Wombat to worry about Cameron and Foreman's reactions, but neither could he blame the kid for being nervous.

"I'm gonna stay for another hour or two," House told Chase when Foreman had left for the day and Cameron had gone to the cafeteria, "you should take the car home. I'm sure that Wilson won't mind giving me a ride when he gets off from work."

"All right. Thanks." Chase couldn't help but to wonder why House had decided to stay at the hospital. "So what will you be doing for another hour or two? Paperwork?"

"Nah. I just feel like being careful today. I mean, who knows if Cameron told anyone else about us? I just don't want people to get suspicious if they see us leaving together this early."

Chase just nodded. "Sure. See you at home, baby."

"Come here, give me a kiss first," House whispered quietly and brought his own lips down to lock with Chase's, "I love you, baby."

"I love you too."

As Chase left the hospital, House decided to just sit back in the chair in his office. He threw his ball around for a bit, feeling increasingly pensive. He reflected on various things, but he never got to reach a conclusion before someone walked in the door and interrupted his chain of thoughts.

Cameron. Oh God, not again.

"House?" Cameron walked up to his desk. She was looking at him with those pathetic, hopeful eyes that gave away her inner desires to hear her boss confessing his love for her. "I didn't know you were still here."

"Sure you did." House said calmly and threw the ball up in the air one more time. "That's why you decided to hide in the cafeteria and wait for Chase and Foreman to leave so that you could come back when I was alone."

Cameron tried to hold a stern face, but ended up laughing awkwardly. "All right, you got me there." She said. "You always see right through me, don't you? Or maybe you can just read my mind."

"Really?" House looked at her like she was crazy. "I know you're used to worshipping me like a God, but now you want to make me a mind-reader too? Or maybe you were just hoping that you and I could share some sort of intimacy? Reading each other's minds like soul mates, is that it?"

"I do believe in soul mates." Cameron just smiled at her boss. "Come on, House, you know why I'm here. You know why I want to talk to you in private, don't you?"

House exhaled tiredly. "Yeah… You want to talk to me about Chase."

"Yes." Cameron took a step closer. "I can see that you're good at reading my mind as well."

"That's because you're always so obvious." House told her. "It's not mind-reading when you're being predictable. So stop trying to create a romantic moment of destiny. It's not going to happen."

"Please stop, House. Stop rejecting me and hear me out." Cameron leaned over the desk, well aware of the fact that her shirt was slightly low-cut. "I'm just being honest with you. I think that you and Chase have been trying to create a relationship that wasn't meant to be. I mean, you don't even have anything in common."

"Oh and you and I do?" House blurted out.

"I understand you better than Chase does. I always have." Cameron smirked. "I really care about you. I wouldn't just sleep with you to keep my job."

"You don't care about me." House smiled at her, feeling confident. "You just want someone to mother. You're just looking for someone who's damaged enough so that you can pity his soul. When Chase was in the hospital, you nearly chose to mother him instead of me. I know that you went to his old apartment."

Cameron frowned. She obviously hadn't seen this coming. "I'm just trying to be there for those who need me. Does that make me such a terrible person?"

"I don't need you. And I don't want you." House told her straight. "And neither does Chase. So you might as well move on to someone else."

"You do need me." Cameron objected. "And you do want me. I know that."

"No, I don't." House stood up from his chair. "I'm not the poor, helpless person that you think I am. You think you need to save me, don't you? Well, guess what. Chase knows that I'm more than just a crippled guy and he doesn't even treat me like one. He treats me like a normal person. He respects me and he understands me. Mothering other people because you feel sorry for them, that's just humiliating, Cameron. I don't know why you ever thought it was a compliment."

House felt like he'd made his point and so he walked towards the door.

"House, wait!" Cameron exclaimed in a panicky voice, and she grabbed a hold of House's shoulder and forced him to turn around. "Just give me a chance," she begged him, "please, House."

She immediately threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck in an uncomfortably tight grip that made House wince. And then she pressed her own body against his whilst pressing their lips together, by using force. House tried to back away immediately, but she was more stubborn than he'd expected. He only managed to separate himself from her by prodding her ribs with his cane.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He cried out loud as Cameron let go of him. "Are you trying to force me into cheating?"

Cameron's face was almost expressionless. She looked utterly stunned and confused. "Did you not like that?" She asked him in a small voice. "House, I thought that you… that we…"

"No." House just said firmly as he backed away from her even further. "No, I did not like that. You were wrong. And if you ever try to kiss me again, I'll fire you on the spot. Is that clear?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He fled the room as quickly as he possibly could; he was certain that Cameron's reaction wasn't worth sticking around for. Whether she would start to cry or break everything in his office out of anger, he wasn't interested in witnessing it. He had had enough drama for one day.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House convinced Wilson to leave early, and so the oncologist gave him a ride home.

"Cameron kissed me against my will," House muttered angrily before stepping out of the car, "now that she knows about me and Chase, she's being extremely jealous."

"House, you have to tell Chase." Wilson told his friend in all seriousness. "Even if you didn't want it to happen, it was still a kiss and he deserves to know."

"I know, I know." House rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Why do employees have to make a drama out of everything? Can't they just leave me alone for one second?"

"Oh poor you," Wilson teased him, "you're so popular that it's ruining your life. I feel really sorry for you."

House supressed a small chuckle. "Jealousy is an ugly thing, Jimmy. You should remember that."

The two friends said goodbye, and House entered the building. As he reached his apartment, he had practised the words in his head and he knew exactly what he was going to tell his Wombat when he saw him.

"Robert!" House called out Chase's name as he walked in the door. "Robert, where are you? Can I talk to you for a second?"

There was no answer.

House walked straight into the living room where he found Chase sitting on the couch with his arms crossed. The young doctor looked pretty exhausted. House noticed the paleness and the emotionless expression and he guessed that Chase felt drained of all his energy. After all, it had been a very difficult day at work.

"Robert?" House moved over to sit next to him on the couch. "You didn't reply when I called your name. I need to talk to you about something. There is something I have to tell you."

It took forever before Chase even reacted to this. He slowly turned his head and took a short look at the older man. "Oh yeah?" His voice sounded different. It sounded detached. Careless. "And what is it that you need to tell me, Greg?"

Chase's voice made House feel slightly apprehensive, but he knew that he needed to just come out with it. There was no excuse for not telling his young lover about Cameron's approaching him.

"Something happened after you left," House groaned hesitantly, "Cameron walked into my office and she was acting all dramatic and jealous as always. I'm really sorry, Robbie, but she kissed me before I could even stop her. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. You should know that I broke the kiss immediately and that I never intend to let it happen again. In fact, I told her that if she ever tried to kiss me again, I'll have her fired."

House stopped talking when he sensed that Chase was barely paying attention to his explanation. "Robbie? Did you hear me? I'm really sorry that it happened, believe me. But there was no way that I could have predicted it. She just kind of surprised me. Are you okay?"

Chase took a deep breath, and House studied his face one more time. It hadn't changed since he'd started talking about Cameron. And so he realised that Chase wasn't upset about this, but about something else.

"Are you done talking?" Chase asked him straight. Once again, his voice was unrecognisable.

"Sure." House said. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that, Robbie? Did something happen?"

Chase shrugged. "You might say that. When I came home from work, I found someone standing outside the apartment, knocking on the door. It was your mother."

House's heart nearly skipped a beat. "My mother?"

"Yeah. She said that she was only in town for a few days, but she wanted to ask you if you were coming home to see your father on his birthday next month. Your father who's still alive and well, apparently."

Chase stopped talking, and when House opened up his mouth as he wanted a chance to explain himself, the young doctor just gave him a cold, distant look that scared him out of saying anything at all.

It was a look that House knew a little too well as he had received it many times from patients and even co-workers, but also a look that he never thought he'd receive from his beloved Wombat; a look of disgust and despise.


	17. Goodbyes

House immediately explained it all to Chase; how he'd been worried about the ulcer and the nightmares getting worse, how he only wanted to take his mind off things and protect him. He had given all his reasons and he had pointed out the fact that he'd been right, that Chase really was beginning to feel better because of this, but it wasn't enough. House could almost feel his own heart breaking when Chase got up from the couch and walked towards the door.

"Robert, wait! Where the hell are you going?" He shouted in an angry voice. "I said that I was sorry, didn't I?"

"Sorry doesn't make up for everything, Greg," Chase told him solemnly, "I'm going out, okay? I'll find some place else to sleep tonight."

"No – you can't! You can't just leave me like this…"

House barely knew what he was doing, but he jumped up from the couch and grabbed a hold of the Wombat's arm, trying to keep him from walking out the door. He made Chase turn around so that they were face to face.

"Robbie, look at me," House begged him, "you're not breaking up with me over this, are you?"

Chase fought an inner battle with himself. He didn't want to soften up and simply let House get away with his lies, but neither did he want to do something drastic and break his heart.

"I don't know," he replied in a small, fragile voice, "I don't know what to do right now. This is the angriest I have ever been with someone."

House was shocked to realise that this was actually a maybe – Chase _could_ actually be on the verge of leaving him because of this. No, this couldn't be happening… He had to stop it. He _had_ to.

"Robbie, please sit down and we'll talk about it." House yanked his lover's arm and he dragged them both back towards the couch. "Please, baby. I know you're angry, but just give me a chance to explain myself."

"You already did." Chase said. "So another explanation won't make me change my mind."

"Would you please just listen to me?!" House snapped. He pushed the kid down on the couch, making sure that he wouldn't try to escape him again. "I did it to protect you, God damn it! I did it because I care about you, Robert. You were feeling so sick and you needed distraction. Otherwise you would only have made yourself feel worse, and I couldn't just watch you suffer."

Chase crossed his arms and gave House another unsympathetic look. "So what? You decided to make up an awful lie instead of talking to me about my feelings? Did you think that lying was the easier way out? You can't just lie about your father's death, House. Can't you see how despicable that is?"

"Call me Greg." House muttered. "Please…"

"I know that your relationship to your dad isn't perfect, but you can't just kill him off in your own head." Chase was beginning to sound more upset than angry. "Parents dying isn't something you should take lightly or make fun of."

"I wasn't trying to make fun of anything." House defended himself. "I wasn't trying to offend anyone. You have to believe me."

"Well, lying about your father's death _is_ offensive to me." Chase said darkly. "Do you have any idea how often I have regretted not talking to my dad one last time before he died? Do you have any idea how much I've missed my mother for the past ten years?"

"Robert, I'm so sorry." House sat down next to him and he touched his knee. Chase simply pushed his hand away.

"You've been acting like a complete jerk, House. You manipulated me into feeling sorry for you just so you could get what you wanted. I said yes to things that you suggested just because I thought you were in a bad place. We had sex so many times even though I was exhausted and even though Cuddy walked in on us." Chase's anger was building up again. "And when you said those really awful things to Laura's brother, I stood behind you because I thought that you were grieving, too. But not even then you had the decency to admit the truth to me."

House sighed with frustration. "Okay, that was wrong of me. I'll admit it – I did take advantage of my lie too many times. But can't you see that we were both feeling happy again? It was even improving our relationship…"

"Lies don't improve relationships!" Chase exclaimed in outrage. "You were just being selfish because you couldn't handle my mood swings. You lied about your father dying, and it only proves that you don't care about other people's feelings. Would you even care if he died in real life?"

"Wait, how is that even relevant?" House had no idea how to answer that question. "When he dies one day, he'll be old and ready. And because of that, I'll be fine with it."

"So you won't miss him?" Chase quizzed him.

House shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I haven't thought about it. Why is it even important?"

"It's important for me to know that you have feelings for other people." Chase told him angrily. "Because sometimes I wonder if you really do."

"Of course I have feelings!" House cried out loud. "But you don't even know my dad. He's an old bastard and he doesn't even care about me. You want me to be honest? Fine, I won't miss him. If he died today, I wouldn't even be sad. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"How can you be so careless and disrespectful?" Chase asked him. "He's your dad! See, this is why I question your ability to really care about other people. What if Wilson died? Would you be upset then?"

"Robert please, don't ask me these questions…" House groaned tiredly. "So I'm not an emotional guy – you knew that the day you met me!"

"Would you care if _I_ died?" Chase looked away from him this time, almost as though he was afraid to hear the answer. "I mean, would you mourn me or would you just move on to someone else? How much do I even mean to you when you treat me like crap?"

Chase stood up from the couch again as he wanted to flee the room, but House refused to let him. He rushed towards his lover and he pressed his body up against the wall before he could walk out the door.

"Don't walk out on me like that!" House told him in a firm, desperate voice.

"Let go of me, House! Let go!" Chase struggled against the older man's grip, but he was so upset that he couldn't even gather his own strength.

"No – let me answer the question first." House looked Chase in the eyes, as calmly as he possibly could. "I love you, Robert. So yes, if I lost you I really would care. And I wouldn't just move on to someone else. There's no one in the world that could ever replace you."

"I don't believe you…" Chase knew that the tears were streaming down his cheeks as he spoke, but he couldn't hold it back. "I don't believe you – you just keep lying to me."

"No," House breathed, feeling more than pained to see his beloved Wombat like this, "I love you. I'm not lying when I tell you that. I really do love you, Robert."

House pressed his lips against Chase's in a crazy, desperate kiss and he held on to the kid's shoulders tightly. For a moment or two, Chase was so baffled and confused that he just went along with it. House was clearly trying to express his deepest emotions and his profound love for him, and so the kiss turned sweeter and gentler. But Chase knew that it was dangerous to let himself fall for this again – House couldn't just make up for everything with a kiss. It would be too easy…

Chase moved his head to the side and he pushed his hands against House's chest angrily until the older man took a step back. He could still feel the tears dropping and it seemed humiliating. He was weak when it came to saying no to House, and House had clearly taken advantage of that.

"It may be that you love me, House," Chase sniffled quietly, "but you sure as hell don't respect me."

House gaped in surprise as the Wombat turned away from him and went to collect his jacket and his messenger bag for work. The kiss hadn't changed a thing.

"Are you leaving?" House asked him breathlessly, his voice dark and hoarse. "Are you really going through with this?"

"I need time to think about it," Chase avoided his look as he put on his jacket, "I can't just forget what you did. I need to think first. I need to be alone."

House realised that there was nothing else that he could do now. It was too late. "All right." He whispered. "You know where to find me if you change your mind."

Chase just nodded and wiped away the rest of his tears. He picked up his bag and he walked towards the door one final time.

"I tried to protect you," House told him one last time, feeling absolutely gutted and devastated, "I tried to protect you because your worries were making you sick. You do realise that, right?"

Chase was quiet for a short while before he answered: "Maybe you never understood my worries. Maybe it wasn't just Laura's death, but the stress from having to keep our relationship a secret that was tearing me apart. Did you ever think about that?"

As the young Australian silently left the apartment and closed the door behind him, House looked up in the ceiling and he cursed himself for having been so confident, so sure of himself and so arrogant. For once he had truly believed in happiness and now, he had fallen to the ground harder than ever.

He needed relief. He needed to breathe. He needed his Vicodin – and a whole lot of vodka.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

House let himself fall down on the big, empty bed. He had emptied his bottle of vodka, and he was feeling sick. Miserable. The room was spinning before his eyes. He was soaked in his own sweat.

As he rolled over to lie on his back, his leg began to cramp. He bit his lip in order to keep himself for crying out in pain. As he clutched his leg desperately, he felt like he hated the entire world and everyone in it. He hated Chase. How the hell could he just walk out on him? How could he be so harsh and unforgiving all of a sudden? Even if House had been an idiot, the two of them had come such a long way together. They had been through all kinds of tests and challenges. So how could he just give up on them now?

House wondered where he was at the moment. If he was staying with someone. He would have given anything to know. The idea of Chase being out there on his own – practically homeless - made him feel awful, however angry and hurt he was. He didn't want anything to happen to him. Especially not now that he was fragile and vulnerable.

How could he even stop worrying about him for just a second?

As the cramp in his leg went away, slowly, the sickness in the pit of his stomach got worse and within the next second, he was forced to jump up from the bed and hurry to the bathroom. House fell down on his knees and he threw up in the toilet, violently. He felt so sick that he knew he would have trouble even getting back up from the floor.

"Damn you, Robert…" House muttered once he'd stopped throwing up. "See what you're doing to me."

He wanted to crawl back to bed, but instead he simply collapsed on the floor. His head was throbbing and he was almost disgusted with himself. How could he have stooped to this level? What the hell had happened to him?

He would never have been in this mess before Chase. If it hadn't been for Chase, he would never have known emotions so violent and heart-breaks so painful. He had turned into the biggest cliché in the world, he realised. Thank god that no one was around to see him like this.

Thank god he was all alone.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

After a miserable night, House experienced an even more miserable morning.

He arrived at the hospital late because of the hangover. He felt like throwing up again, and yet, all he could do was search for the person who had brought him in this state of misery and regret. He walked in the diagnostics room, completely having forgotten about Cameron and how much trouble she had caused him yesterday, and of course Foreman who was still trying to prove the fact that House was a discriminating son of a bitch. Those issues seemed so unimportant to him now – in fact, he couldn't care less what his own employees thought of him.

He only cared about seeing Chase and making sure that he was all right and hadn't spent the night on the street. If Chase was well, House knew that he could relax just a little bit. And if he spoke to him, too, and the Wombat seemed better than yesterday, House would even allow himself to wish for his lover's forgiveness.

That was all he wanted.

Cameron was the first one to look up when he entered. Then Foreman followed her lead.

"Where's Chase?" House asked them, disappointed to see that he was nowhere around. "Is he not at work today?"

He totally ignored the stares from Foreman and Cameron as he began to fear that no one had seen or heard from the kid. What on earth was he supposed to do if Chase was missing? He had no idea where to find him or even where to look for him. And if he was in trouble…

"He's in the lab – he's been there all morning." Foreman muttered in a neutral voice. "He showed up at work an hour earlier than we did. I thought you knew that?"

House took a deep breath. "No, I didn't. Will you excuse me for a moment…"

"House, wait!" Cameron called him back before he could head for the lab. "You two are living together, aren't you? How come you didn't know that he was at work?"

Just looking at Cameron reminded him of the things that she had said and done yesterday, and so he felt even more annoyed. He decided to look away from her.

"What on earth makes you think that I would answer any questions from _you_?" House grunted. He left the room before Cameron got a chance to answer him.

"What the hell did _you_ do to piss him off?" Foreman asked her when the two of them were alone again.

Cameron shrugged and avoided his look. "I didn't do anything." She said. "House is just a mean, old jerk."

Foreman took a closer look at her and he snorted. "Well that's new."

In the meantime, House entered the lab impatiently. He was happy and relieved to see Chase sitting behind the desk, alone. He was facing away from House, but the older doctor had a feeling that he still knew who had walked in.

"Chase?" House limped closer, suddenly uncertain of what to say. Should he ask him how he was or was that too soon? Should he rather let the kid have the first word?

Chase turned around and gave his boss a look. His expression hadn't changed after House walked in; his face seemed almost blank.

And yet, he decided to speak first: "I tested the patient's blood for toxins, but I didn't find any." He said. "We also ruled out MS this morning."

House waited in anticipation, but that was it. Chase was now looking at him, awaiting his response.

"That's it?" House asked him, feeling disappointed. "That's the first thing you say to me? You give me an update on the patient?"

Chase was clearly trying to downplay this awkward situation. "We're both at work right now, so yes. I thought you came here for an update, anyway?"

"Yeah – an update on you!" House blurted out. "I haven't been able to sleep all night because I was worrying and wondering where you were, but you're just sitting here working as though nothing has happened?"

"I have to do my job, House," Chase said quietly, "no matter how upset I may feel, I have to stay focused. You can understand that, right?"

"Actually no, I can't." House said stubbornly. "You're acting as though everything's fine, but it's not. I need answers, god dammit. You can't just keep me in the dark like this."

"Wait, are you telling me not to keep _you_ in the dark?" Chase gave him a graver look this time. "House, you can't just come here and act like the victim in front of me. I'm still really mad at you."

House couldn't help but to feel angry and slightly offended. He didn't think that he was trying to play the victim, but it frustrated him that he couldn't have the sort of conversation with his Wombat that he really needed to have.

"I'm not just feeling sorry for myself over nothing," House said persistently, "do you have any idea what you put me through last night when you left? Can't you see that I'm suffering and in pain?" House sighed. "I got high on my Vicodin and drunk on vodka just to get through the night, okay? If I had stayed sober, I would have continued to worry about where you were and it would have driven me crazy."

But for some reason, none of this appeared to soften up Chase.

"So you were worried about me for one night?" He said. "And you got drunk because you couldn't stand it? What about all the times I was feeling upset and worried? What about all the times you hurt my feelings and made me feel like you were ashamed of me? I've had many sleepless nights, House. It happens – get over it."

"How can you be so careless all of a sudden?" House yelled and grabbed Chase's shoulder. "You're acting like you hardly care about me. Didn't you miss me? Don't you love me anymore?"

Chase felt torn when he noted the panic in the older man's eyes – he never dreamed that he would actually see House acting this desperate and needy. He tried to make him let go of his shoulder, but House held on to him like it was a matter of life and death.

"Don't be stupid," Chase told him in a tired, exhausted voice, "of course I love you. I will always love you, and maybe that's my biggest problem. You hurt my feelings over and over again, House, and yet I keep forgiving you because I love you. It's not healthy. You turn me into a person that I don't want to become. I don't want to be weak – I don't want you to be able to control me like this."

Chase was beginning to sound sad again, and House felt guilty for reasons that he couldn't name. He decided to lay his arms around the young man's shoulders, and he pulled Chase into a gentle, heartfelt hug.

"I'm sorry." House whispered. "I never meant to hurt you. And I certainly never meant to control you. I don't want you to feel like you can't say no to me. I just want you to be happy, baby."

Chase didn't know if he should struggle against the hug or not. In a way, it felt wonderful to be embraced and held again, but he feared that House was only doing this because he was tired of arguing and had run out of words.

"I haven't been happy in a while, Greg." Chase decided to be honest with him. "I feel like there are certain things that I can't talk to you about. Especially because you hate talking about feelings. I'm scared that you'll continue to lie to me whenever you want to avoid a conflict."

"I'll never lie to you again." House said immediately. "I promise."

"But it's not just that." Chase continued. "We have other problems. I still feel like you're ashamed of me and that you don't want people to see us together. Even though Wilson and Cuddy knows about us and approves of our relationship, you refuse to let us go out and act like a couple. We're always just staying home in your apartment because you don't want other people to see us together."

House didn't know what to say. He knew that this was probably all true, but if he promised his Wombat to change his behaviour just like that, he would be lying again. When he couldn't find any words to say, he decided to speak through his actions instead.

"Let me show you how much I love you and how much I want to be with you." House said and began to kiss Chase's lips whilst holding on to him. "I missed you so much, Robbie. Come back home with me – please?"

House had pressed their bodies together and he made sure that the kiss evolved quickly. He invaded Chase's mouth like a poor, desperate soul who knew that he was about to get turned down again. He just wanted to enjoy the short moments of undying passion before it was all over again – he just wanted one last taste of the joy, the closeness and the affection. This was the only way he knew how to express himself and make his feelings evident.

"House, no…" Chase gasped breathlessly and pulled back. "You can't do this to me again. It's not right!"

House cursed under his breath. He had failed again. "Why – what's wrong?" He asked. "I was just trying to show you how I feel…"

"No," Chase told him angrily, "that's not what you were trying to do. You kissed me because you wanted to avoid the subject. I just told you that I feel like you're embarrassed to be seen with me, and instead of telling me if I'm right or wrong, you kiss me because you can't come up with anything better. I can never get an answer out of you."

"You're not the only one who wants answers," House replied impatiently, "I asked you to come back home with me. Now, what do you have to say about that?"

Chase freed himself from House's arms completely, and he jumped off the tall lab chair.

"I'm not ready. I told you, I need time to think and be alone." The young doctor looked away as he felt his cheeks burning. "I'm sorry Greg, I'm not doing this to hurt you. But sometimes it feels like you're not taking my words seriously. Like you're not listening to me."

"I _am_ listening." House objected. But their conversation was interrupted when the door to the lab was opened and Foreman and Cameron appeared.

Just from looking at the two of them, it was evident that something was going on and that the couple had had a fight. But Foreman decided to ignore it since they were all professionals.

"What's going on?" He asked them, looking from House to Chase. "Did you find something?"

House felt his own disappointment turn into anger and frustration and so he decided to leave the room. "Chase ruled out toxins and MS," he muttered as he walked past his employees, "so I guess this still leaves us without any answers, doesn't it?"

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

Foreman and Cameron joined Chase and took part in his work in the lab.

"Dude, what is going on with you and House?" Foreman asked Chase after a moment of awkward silence. "Is everyone mad at each other this morning or what?"

Chase bit his lip and kept his eyes on the computer screen in front of him. He prayed that Foreman would go away or simply leave him alone.

"It's nothing," he grunted, "House is just being selfish as always."

Foreman smirked knowingly. "Huh, that's funny," he remarked, "you were so busy defending him the other day. What happened?"

"Nothing happened," Chase insisted, "so let's just forget about it."

Foreman gave Cameron a look behind his colleague's back, and Cameron knew that they were both thinking the same thing: Trouble in Paradise. But whereas Foreman hoped that the issues wouldn't affect him, Cameron only felt curious to know what they were fighting about. As soon as Foreman left the lab to go see the patient, she joined Chase in front of the computer, approaching him discretely.

"What's going on?" She asked him in a sweet, innocent voice. "Chase, are you and House breaking up?"

Chase looked at her in surprise. Couldn't she tell that he didn't really want to talk about it? "I don't know," he told her, "things just got really complicated."

"I hope this isn't my fault." She said. "I feel so guilty. Did House tell you that we kissed last night? Is that why you're fighting with him?"

Chase groaned tiredly. "Cameron, just quit it. I know that you kissed him and he told you to back off. But no, that's not why we're fighting. It has nothing to do with you."

Cameron wasn't sure how to feel about that. It sounded like both House and Chase had forgotten about her kiss. She had expected at least one of them to feel jealous.

"I just want you to know that I'm sorry." She gently moved her hand to Chase's knee. "I crossed the line. You're seeing House, so I shouldn't have tried to come between you two. But for what it's worth, I now realise that I was wrong to go after House." She paused to make sure that Chase was listening to her. "We would never have made a good pair anyway. I thought I was right for him, but I'm not."

Chase didn't know what to say. She probably thought he was pissed about what she did, but he wasn't. She had made a move and it hadn't worked. That was all.

"I don't know who is right for House," Chase told her solemnly, "I mean, I don't know if there's anybody on this planet who could put up with everything he does and not get hurt."

The look in Cameron's eyes changed and she realised that the conflict between her boss and her male co-worker was probably serious.

"Did he hurt you?" She asked him, batting her sorrowful eyes at him. "Are you okay, Chase? What did he do?"

Chase was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Cameron sounded emotional already, without even knowing what was going on.

"It's no big deal," he said, "I just found out that he lied to me about something important, and now I don't know if I should forgive him."

Cameron moved her hand from his knee to his thigh. "You know, I would never lie to you if we were in a relationship." She said. "I would respect you. I would cherish your feelings."

"What?!" Chase blurted out. "Cameron, what the hell are you saying?"

"Come on, Chase, we both know that House doesn't appreciate you." She came on to him even stronger. "He's just using you for sex, isn't he? I bet he doesn't even take your relationship seriously."

Chase was in shock. Was she really trying to come between him and House again, even though she had just apologised for kissing House last night? What had gotten into her?

"Cameron, I'm sorry but I don't want to talk about this anymore." He said. "House and I are having some issues at the moment, but we used to be good together. And I still think that we could make it work again, if we're both willing."

Cameron just leaned closer and looked him in the eyes. "What are you doing with a man like House, Chase? Wouldn't you like a wife and a bunch of kids instead? I honestly think that you would be happier without him."

She leaned in again, and Chase had to turn away in order to avoid her lips.

"Cameron, stop!" He exclaimed, his voice full of confusion. "What the hell are you thinking? You already tried hitting on House and clearly, that didn't work. So what, now you're trying the same thing with me? How desperate are you?"

He wanted to be angry at her, but before he knew it, Cameron broke down in tears in front of him, and he couldn't help but to feel bad. After all, she had just been rejected twice in a row.

"I'm sorry," she wailed, and the sobbing grew louder, "forgive me, Chase. I don't know why I'm acting this way. You must think I'm a crazy bitch or something. I know that I shouldn't be hitting on you when you're vulnerable. Especially not after having hit on House."

She stopped to sniffle, and Chase knew that he couldn't get mad when she was this upset. Instead, he was beginning to feel sorry for her.

"I don't think you're a crazy bitch," he told her, "don't worry. We can put this behind us if you want. Would that make you feel better?"

Cameron wiped her tears. "Maybe – thanks. I guess it's just been really hard for me to find out about you and House. Don't laugh at me, but I always thought that House was someone I could have an affair with. I thought that I could learn from him and that he could open up to me for a while, even if it would never have lasted. But you, Chase – I always thought that you and I actually had a real chance together. That when I grew tired of House, I would fall in love with you and we could get married and start a family together." Cameron let out a small laugh and she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I know it sounds idiotic. But I just feel like I've lost both you and House now. And it makes me feel really lonely."

Chase was quiet for a short while. He was more than surprised to hear that Cameron had actually had these thoughts. He would never have guessed that she dreamed about getting married and starting a family – not with a guy like himself. The two of them were so different from each other. They only had their age in common. It wasn't flattering to hear that Cameron thought of him as a back-up plan when she got tired of House, but he guessed that she didn't mean anything by it. It would never have worked out, though. Not the way that she imagined it.

"I know what it's like to feel lonely," he said and gave her an encouraging smile, "I'm sorry that you feel that way. But I'm sure that the right person will come along soon. Someone who's nothing like me or House."

"What makes you say that?" She asked him and sniffled again. "Maybe I'm still looking for someone who's just like you, Chase."

"Maybe you are." He said and shrugged. "But let me warn you, Cameron. You and I would never have made a happy couple. Trust me."

"Why not?" She looked like she didn't know whether to feel offended or not. "What makes you think that?"

"Because – we both love House way too much. It would never have worked out."

Chase smiled at her, and just like that, Cameron began to laugh.

"Maybe you're right." She admitted and added, teasingly: "I certainly wouldn't want a husband that ended up leaving me for another man."

They both laughed again, and Chase just gave her a friendly hug. He wanted to let her know that he was happy to be her friend, but that he wasn't joking about being in love with House and not her. And by the way Cameron returned the hug, he could tell that she understood.

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCH**

By the end of the day, Chase felt like he was ready to face House again, and so he went to see him in his office when Foreman and Cameron had both left for the day.

House was sitting behind his desk, looking both crossed and slightly depressed. Chase hated to see him like this, and even though he was still pretty mad about what he had done, he didn't feel like hurting House's feelings again by keeping him in the dark. They needed to straighten things out.

"Greg?" Chase walked up to his desk and he gave him a gentle smile. "Do you have a minute?"

House looked up, and he saw the Wombat smiling. Even if they hadn't been apart for long, he'd still had time to miss the kid's wonderful smile. A smile that was definitely part of his charms.

"Of course." House said and he felt calmer already. "What is it?"

"I thought about it and I still think that you and I need to talk a few things through. There are things that I want to ask you, Greg, and there are also things that I want you to know about me. So I'm here to ask you if you would like to have breakfast with me tomorrow morning?"

"Breakfast?" House repeated. "You just want to make me get up early for a change, don't you?"

Chase smirked and let out a small laugh. "I thought that we could meet in the cafeteria and eat together before Foreman and Cameron show up? It would be nice to have a few moments to ourselves, don't you think?"

House couldn't hold back a happy chuckle. "It sure would." He agreed. "Even if I have to get up early for it. By the way, is there a reason why you want us to meet in public?" House studied the kid knowingly. "Are you scared that I will kiss you again instead of talking to you?"

Chase shrugged. "I just thought that it would be good for us to do something together in public. It would almost be the first time, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I think so." House knew that Chase had a point – if he didn't want to lose him, it was time for them to stop hiding and become a couple in public, too. "It's a date." He said. "What time do you want me to show up?"

"I was thinking 7.30?" Chase suggested happily.

"7.30?! Oh, you are cruel!" House exclaimed, and they shared another grin. "All right, fine. Let's do it. I can't wait."

"Neither can I." Chase hesitated, but then he leaned in over House's desk, and as House followed his lead, the two of them kissed each other's lips briefly.

"See you tomorrow morning." Chase said and walked out of the room.

House leaned back in his chair. It was as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he couldn't keep himself from smiling. He finally believed that he could win Chase back now. And he certainly felt willing to do whatever it would take. Even if he had to become a decent human being from now on, it would be worth the effort if Chase started believing in him again. And just like that, he felt like the most blessed person in the world.

However, little did he know that there wouldn't be any breakfast with his Wombat the next morning.

House wasn't the only one who wanted a conversation with Chase at the next given opportunity – Jack Hamilton was feeling just as eager to get his hands on the Australian doctor. And sadly enough, time would come to show that Mr. Hamilton would hunt Chase down before House.

But this was something that House had yet to discover and regret.


End file.
